We Looked Like Giants
by satellitecall1
Summary: College sophomore Piper Chapman comes across a group of protesters, along with a certain brunette standing up to them. To prove a point, she impulsively kisses Alex. How does she cope with the aftermath? Not the best summary, check it out for more details. [Epilogue Posted]
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry it's been awhile, this past month at work has been insane. So, this story is a little different than my normal one-shot. It's not the sequel to_ "Welcome to the Jungle" _(_ _which is coming), but it's a story I started a little while ago. It was originally meant to be a one-shot, and then evolved into a two-shot, but now it's just kind of out of control, so I think it's going to be a three-parter. I really hope you enjoy it, and let me know what you think!_

Disclaimer: These are not my views or opinions on Katy Perry, she was just the first singer I could think of that could work with this plot.

* * *

Chapter 1: Piper Chapman

Springtime at Smith was Piper's favorite time of the year. Everyone was outside on the Quad, classes were winding down, and summer was right around the corner. But most importantly, it meant Spring Weekend. The last weekend before finals was involved a three day celebration of completing another year at Smith. This year, the campus activities committee was planning a fair complete with a bounce house, games, and, perhaps one of the more exciting events, Katy Perry would be performing on Saturday night.

Piper was heading to meet a friend at the student center to start preparing for their English final. She was running late, and was in the middle of texting her friend that she'd be there soon when she heard it.

"That's the biggest piece of bull shit I have ever heard!" a voice exclaimed. Piper's head shot up. In front of the student center was a group of ten girls, one holding a sign that read "Ban Katy Perry from Smith". Another girl, presumably the yeller, was standing in front of them, staring down at a shorter brunette defiantly.

"No it ain't!" the shorter girl retaliated, a drawl to her voice. "We do not want to have someone like Katy Perry performing here. She is not a good role model!"

"Why? Because she has one song about kissing a girl? Who cares?" The taller girl's raspy voice shot back, causing Piper to stop and watch.

"It's not right," one of the other girls, with straight, strawberry blonde hair, piped up.

Piper clenched her fists as she felt a rush of annoyance towards the group of girls, and had a feeling as to where this conversation was going.

"What's not right?" the taller brunette asked, adjusting her glasses as she stared down each of the girls.

"Two girls kissing," the brunette with the southern accent said. "It's not natural."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" the brunette explained, at the exact moment Piper yelled:

"What the hell?"

Eleven eyes cut to Piper, who suddenly felt self-conscious. Coughing, she began to speak. "You can't force your homophobic beliefs on the entire student body."

The taller brunette studied Piper, scrunching her eyes as the shorter girl began to speak. "We're bringing morals and Jesus to this school."

"This is not a religious school!" Piper walked over, standing next to the brunette with glasses, who was now smirking at her. "You can't enforce your religious beliefs on a non-denominational school."

"Piper?" A voice came from the left. Piper turned, noticing her roommate Polly standing with her boyfriend, Pete. "What are you doing?"

"Not now Polly," Piper said dismissively, turning back towards the group of religious zealots. "Does Katy Perry coming here for one concert, where she may play one song about kissing a girl, really affect your life?"

The girl with strawberry blonde scoffed at Piper. "Tell her Tucky."

The shorter brunette, apparently named Tucky, looked at Piper defiantly. "Because songs like that display bad morals. And songs like that will turn people gay."

"Turn people gay?" Piper said incredulously.

"Oh god," Piper could hear Polly mutter behind her. "Here she goes."

"People don't just turn gay," Piper began loudly, ignoring her friend behind her. "The fall somewhere on a spectrum. Like a Kinsey Scale."

"I don't think so,"Tucky said firmly. "I think you can turn gay."

"That's ridiculous," Piper scoffed. "I have never had any interest in girls. Ever. But, you're saying if I kiss her," Piper pointed at the taller brunette, who raised her eyebrows at Piper. "That I'll automatically become gay?"

"Yep," Tucky nodded.

"Well then," Piper laughed, turning towards the taller girl. She gave the taller girl a fleeting smile before cupping her cheeks and pulling her towards Piper, pressing their lips together.

And Piper could swear she saw stars.

The girl's lips were soft, softer than any boy she had kissed. The other girl immediately raised her hands to cup Piper's cheeks, holding her in place. What felt like a burst of electricity passed through them as Piper moved her lips against the other girl, before the brunette pulled away a moment later.

Piper opened her eyes, her mouth falling open slightly as she stared at the other girl. Piper had _never_ been kissed like that. Had never felt anything so powerful from just a quick kiss. Ever.

And now, she wasn't sure what it meant.

"So," the brunette spoke softly, her voice husky as a smirk unfurled across her face. "What's the verdict?"

"What?" Piper stuttered, still staring at Alex with wide eyes.

Alex tilted head to the side, studying Piper. "So, are you gay now?"

 _Right, proving a point here,_ Piper thought. Shaking her head slightly and turning towards Tucky, Piper squared her shoulders. "See?" Piper asked, raising an eyebrow. "Still the same person. Unless I've suddenly sprouted horns or a rainbow unicorn horn." The girl Piper had just kissed snorted behind her, while Tucky rolled her eyes, throwing both girls a look of disgust.

"It still isn't right," Tucky huffed, turning to her group and gesturing for them to leave.

Piper turned back to the other girl, instantly blushing over the fact that the girl was still smirking at her.

"Sorry I just…kinda… jumped into your argument," Piper apologized, her eyes darting away from the other girl.

"Don't worry about it," the other girl laughed slightly. "There are worse ways to end a homophobic rant than with a kiss." Piper felt herself turn even redder, which the other must have noticed, as she chuckled again. "So, you seriously never kissed a girl before?"

Piper looked back to the brunette, eyes wide. "No," she replied.

"Well, you definitely knew what your were doing, um …"the girl trailed off, raising her eyebrows. Taylor just stared at her, taking her a moment to realize that the girl was subtly asking for her name.

"Piper," the blonde blurted out. "Piper Chapman. "

"Alex," the brunette - _Alex –_ smiled, holding out her hand. Piper grabbed it, again feeling a spark pulse through them as they shook hands.

"Nice to meet you," Piper murmured.

"You too," Alex replied, turning around. "See you around kid."

Piper was left standing alone as Alex walked away, leaving her slightly in a daze. She couldn't even begin to understand what she was feeling right now.

"Uh…Piper," suddenly Polly's voice carried through, catching Piper off guard. Piper whipped around, see Polly and Pete still standing there, looking surprised at what Piper had just done.

"Yeah, hi, sorry about that. That smaller girl was being an asshole, so I just had to-"

"Get involved and make out with some girl?" Polly rolled her eyes.

"We didn't make out!" Piper insisted. "It was one kiss!"

"Whatever," Polly said flippantly. "I don't understand your need to champion all causes. Let's go, we have a study guide to make."

"Yeah," Piper agreed, following her friend into the student center.

"Just so you know," Pete turned to Piper, breaking the silence. "If you ever want to go make out with a girl again in my presence, you can go right ahead."

"Pete!" Polly exclaimed, smacking his arm as Piper began to laugh.

"Yeah, I'll remember that," Piper chuckled, rolling her eyes as if to end the discussion. Her mind, however, was on overdrive. She had enjoyed that kiss. And it got her thinking.

* * *

"Pipe, why would you ever want to spend the whole summer here?" Polly asked as she finished packing up her side of their room. It was the middle of May, and the semester was finally over.

Piper had adamantly insisted that she and Polly attend the Katy Petty Concert the weekend following the protest, even though Polly had muttered that Piper had made her point by kissing a random girl. To be honest, Piper wasn't a huge fan of Katy Perry, but she had felt obligated to attend after the stance she took. Throughout the concert, she found herself scanning the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of the girl she had kissed. Though she had hoped the girl would be there to take a stand against those religious nut jobs, she hadn't noticed her in the crowd, and in reality, Piper wouldn't know what to do even if she _had_ seen the brunette in the crowd.

After the concert, Piper didn't have much time to think about kissing girls. Finals had passed by in a stressful, exhausted blur, and now it was summer, and Polly was heading home. Piper, on the other hand, had elected to stay at school for the summer to take classes.

"I told you Polly," Piper sighed, exasperated. "Since I picked up the theater double major, I am a few credits short of graduating with both majors. I have to stay to take classes."

That wasn't exactly true. Piper had taken Advanced Placement classes in college that had helped her free up enough classes to double major, so she didn't _have_ to stay at school for the summer. But when she had called home a month ago, her mother had seen distant and distracted, and Cal mentioned that their dad hadn't been around much, which was code that their dad had begun seeing another woman. Following that conversation, Piper had immediately signed up for summer courses to keep her away from her tense and uncomfortable home life.

"Fine," Polly huffed. "You're still going to have to come visit me this summer. And text me whenever you're bored and I'll come visit."

"You know I will," Piper smiled, standing to hug her roommate.

"See you soon," Polly said, squeezing Piper quickly. "Don't get too lonely."

"I'll try not to," Piper laughed, waving goodbye as Polly left the dorm.

Piper smiled at the silence, flopping down on her bed and opening her book. She may be stuck at school for the summer, but at least she'd be stress free. She couldn't wait for a quiet summer at school, with no distractions. She was beginning to chalk her preoccupation with the brunette up to stress and finals craziness, and hoped that this summer would help her get back to her old self.

* * *

Piper was grateful classes were starting back up. It was the Tuesday after Memorial Day, and she was heading to her first summer class, "Writing for the Theater". She had been forced to go home for Memorial Day Weekend, as her parents were throwing a neighborhood party.

It didn't go well.

Her father had come home forty five minutes into the party, tie crooked and smelling like perfume. Her mother must have noticed, as she was constantly refilling her wine glass for the rest of the afternoon. After the guests had left, she and Cal overheard their parents arguing in the kitchen, only to watch their father leave the house in a huff. Piper felt the urge to escape, so an hour later, she hugged Cal and her mother goodbye and began the two and a half hour drive back to Smith to get ready for class.

When she got to the small classroom, it was almost full. Unfortunately, the seats in the front were all taken, so she was first to sit towards the back. Soon after, the professor came in, a short, middle aged woman with dark hair streaked with grey. Professor Stanton had just begun taking attendance when there was a knock at the classroom door.

"Can I help you?" the professor asked as she moved to open the door.

"Yeah, is this Writing for the Theater?" a husky voice asked, and Piper's ears perked. She knew that voice from somewhere…

"Yes, and I don't tolerate lateness," Professor Stanton said sternly as she opened the door wider, allowing the student to step inside. "Now find a seat."

And then Piper was forced to face the girl she hadn't been able to get off of her mind for the past month.

As if she could sense her thoughts, the tall brunette, Alex, she said her name was (not that Piper had remembered her name, and hadn't been thinking about Alex off and on since the concert) scanned the room, and her eyes quickly landed on Piper. A smile spread across her face as she adjusted her classes and moved to the back of the class, taking the seat right next to Piper.

"Hey Katy Perry," Alex greeted her quietly as Professor resumed taking attendance. Piper turned towards her, eyes wide. "Fancy seeing you here."

Piper opened her mouth, unsure as to how to respond.

"Alex Vause?" Professor Stanton called out. Alex turned to Professor Stanton, lazily raising her hand as Piper stared at the brunette, still in shock.

Professor Stanton nodded in acknowledgement, then asking the class to open to their syllabus.

Luckily for Piper, since it was the first day of class, it wasn't very long. Piper hadn't been able to concentrate since Alex had walked into the classroom. She had thought about Alex off and on since their kiss before Spring Weekend. She had enjoyed it, a lot more than she had expected to, and it raised some questions. Piper had wanted to face them, but she was a coward, and had decided these feelings for as long as possible. But, with the girl, _Alex,_ sitting next to her, she kept thinking about the way Alex's lips felt pressed against her, and the spark that had pulsed between them.

As soon as they were dismissed, Piper felt the urge to bolt. She jumped out of her seat, picking up her notebook and stuffing it into her backpack.

"Hey," Alex said, stepping in front of her.

Piper looked up at Alex briefly before looking back down. "Hi," she answered quietly.

"Do I get to know the name of the random stranger who kissed me last month, or are you trying to keep an air of mystery?" Piper again looked up at her, smiling sheepishly at the girl's waiting expression. "I must have missed it when Professor Stanton was calling attendance."

"Piper, Piper Chapman," Piper said embarrassed that she remembered Alex's name when Alex clearly didn't think it was important enough to remember hers. "You asked me my name last month," Piper said, her voice slightly cold as she held out her hand for Alex to shake. Alex took it, shaking briefly. Piper flinched again as she felt a current pulse between them, and Alex tilted her head at the sensation, brow furrowed.

"Right, Piper," Alex repeated slowly as she dropped Piper's hand, smiling again. "I'm sorry, I'm terrible with names. It's nice to see you again."

"Yeah, you too," Piper stuttered awkwardly as she grabbed her backpack, slinging it over her shoulder. "I have to get going."

Alex nodded, stepping aside. Piper darts towards the door, turning when Alex called after her.

"I'll see you on Thursday," Alex called.

Piper smiled, nodding slightly as she left the classroom, heading to a literature class.

* * *

On Thursday morning, Piper had a plan.

She didn't want to be distracted by Alex Vause for the entirety of the first summer semester, and she knew that would likely happen if she kept sitting next to Alex. Since it was only the second day of class, seats were not permanent yet, so Piper decided she would just pick a new seat. Far away from her old seat.

Alex Vause, apparently, had other plans.

Piper made sure to get to class early enough to find a new seat, but when she entered the class, Alex was already there, as if she were waiting for Piper. Piper scanned the room, trying to look for an obvious seat opening while pretending she didn't notice Alex. However, she failed, her eyes accidentally fell on Alex briefly, who just grinned at her and patted the desk next to her, urging Piper to sit next to her. Piper reluctantly moved towards the same seat she sat in on Tuesday, smiling tightly at Alex.

They didn't speak again until the end of class.

"So," Alex began casually as they packed up their bags an hour and a half later.

"Yeah?" Piper responded, glancing at Alex.

"I noticed on the syllabus that we have to partner write a script as an end of the semester project. I was wondering if you would want to work together?"

"Alex, we don't even need to start working on the script for a month," Piper said incredulously.

"I know," Alex shrugged. "But I want to make sure I have the best partner locked in early."

"You think _I'll_ be the best partner?"

"You are a theater major, right? Hence this stuff should kind of be your wheelhouse."

"Right," Piper nodded, blushing a little.

"So," Alex said, her voice tinted with shyness. "Do you want to be my partner?"

Piper studied Alex for a moment; her eyes were wide behind her glasses, and she ran her hands through her hair nervously as she waited for Piper to reply.

"Sure," Piper responded after a moment, genuinely smiling. "I'd like that."

"Good," Alex returned the smile, looking at her desk to grab the last of her books. "I'll see you next Tuesday."

"See you, Alex."

* * *

"I have graded your first writing assignment," Professor Stanton stated at the end of class a few weeks later. "In general, the scenes you constructed were very well written, and the dialogue was exceptional, but some improvements are needed in some areas."

Professor Stanton slowly passed out their scripts. They were assigned to create a brief scene. They had been building up to the assignment for weeks, with homework geared towards creating dialogue, portraying subtleties and meanings, and for this project, they were expected to write a scene with a beginning, middle, and end. Piper had felt that she had done well, and was anxious to get her grade.

Students filtered out as they received her assignment, and Piper was bouncing slightly in her chair by the time Professor Stanton handed her paper back to her. She immediately flipped to the back page, where her grade was scralled.

 _C_

A C. Professor Stanton gave her a C. Piper had never received a C in her life. Below her grade was a brief comment in Professor Stanton's thin scrawl.

 _Dialogue well written. Setting needs much improvement._

Piper dropped her head in her hands, fighting back tears. She had been so proud of that script, she had thought she would do well in a theater major. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe she could beg the Dean, or Department Head, or _anyone_ to let her drop the major, even though it was too late.

"Pipes?" A questioning voice floated across the classroom.

Piper raised her head slowly, trying to subtly wipe her tears. "Alex," Piper breathed, suddenly sitting up straighter and wiping vigorously under her eyes.

"Is everything all right?" Alex asked, moving towards her. Piper looked around the room, realizing that they were the only two left.

"I'm fine," Piper muttered, shuffling her papers around to organize them.

"You sure?" Alex quirked her eyebrow.

"It's stupid," Piper shook her head. "I just didn't do as well on the assignment as I wanted."

"Oh come on, I'm sure you did fine," Alex scoffed, grabbing for her paper.

"Alex don't!" Piper exclaimed, trying to grab her assignment back, but Alex was too quick. Piper again dropped her head onto her desk as Alex looked over her assignment.

"Piper, a C isn't terrible," Alex said quietly. "Professor Stanton said your dialogue was great. And this isn't the only assignment this semester. We're supposed to expand on one of our scenes to make it into a complete play. You have plenty of time for improvement."

"You wouldn't understand," Piper snapped as she grabbed her paper back, her voice sharp.

"Try me," Alex challenged, her tone just as sharp. After a moment, Alex's face softened, and she sighed. "Come on Pipes. You look like you need someone talk to. I won't laugh, I promise."

Piper sighed, glancing at Alex before looking around the room, for some reason unable to make eye contact with her classmate. "It's just, I decided to double major in theater last semester, and my parents were less than thrilled. I think my mom said that it was no way to find a husband, and my dad said I'll be unemployed forever. I was hoping to show the wrong. You know, I wanted to do really well right away so I could shove it in their face."

"You will," Alex soothed.

"I don't know, maybe I should just drop it," Piper sighed.

"Don't you dare," Alex replied, thinking for a minute. "Listen, Professor Stanton really liked the way I set the scene in my piece. Why don't you come over to my place tonight and I'll look it over?"

Piper's eyes widened, a red tint returning to her cheeks. "Yeah, sure," Piper agreed, smiling slightly.

Alex grinned back, grabbing a pen and writing her address on the top of Piper's script assignment. "See you tonight," Alex smiled, sliding out of her seat and walking away.

"Alex!" Piper called just as Alex reached the door. Alex turned, raising an eyebrow. "Thank you," Piper smiled softly. "You're like, really good at making people feel better about themselves."

"Anytime kid," Alex smiled, ducking out of the room.

* * *

Several hours later, Piper found herself staring at the door of Alex's apartment, knocking timidly. The door swung open to reveal a smiling Alex, glasses perched on top of her head.

"Come on in, kid," Alex greeted as she stepped aside. "I thought you were never going to get here."

"Sorry," Piper smiled. "I had a little trouble finding it."

"Eh, that's alright." Alex shrugged, moving into the living room area and gesturing for Piper to sit next to her. "You gave me a chance to catch up on some television."

Piper slowly sat down next to Alex, turning to face her. "So," Piper began. "Now what?"

"Give me your scene," Alex prompted, holding out her hand.

"What? Why?" Piper asked.

"So I can read it," Alex said slowly, as if she couldn't be more obvious.

"But, it's…personal," Piper said, blushing slightly.

"Come on Pipes, just let me read it."

"No," Piper replied, her voice sounding whiny.

Alex gave her a hard stare before rolling her eyes and getting off the couch, moving towards the hallway.

"Where are you going?" Piper called, but Alex didn't answer. She returned a moment later, a thin stack of papers in her hand.

"My scene was really personal too," Alex said softly, holding the papers out to Piper. "But I'll let you read it. And I promise to only skim yours. I'll just look at the setting."

Piper nodded slightly, reaching into her bag for her scene and handing it to Alex. In return, she grabbed Alex's papers and began to read.

Alex's scene blew hers out of the water. She wrote about a girl meeting her father for the first time, at a concert. Though the dialogue was interesting, Piper was focused on the setting and stage direction. With the way Alex had set the scene, Piper could practically hear the base pounding during the concert as the lead character watched her father on stage, she could picture the dingy light of the backstage area and the smell of weed and cigarette smoke as the girl confronted her absentee father. She could hear the heartbreak in the lead's voice as she as she told another character about a white pleather jacket she had always dreamed of wearing when she met her dad. Alex's stage notes and setting made her feel like she was there, standing right next to the lead.

When Piper finished reading, she found Alex staring at her.

"That was amazing," Piper breathed, staring wide eyed at Alex.

"It wasn't that great," Alex shrugged, but a smile cracked her otherwise cool expression. "You wrote about our kiss."

"Um, yeah," Piper stuttered. "Stanton told us to write about something important to us, and I had never kissed a girl before, and it felt important to be standing up to those Jesus freaks and it was impulsive and reckless and it meant something to me and-" Piper's eyes widened even more as she realized what she just admitted, and she tried to backtrack again, turning into a rambling mess. "I mean, it meant something to be able to stand up to those homophobic jerks, and I'd never kissed a girl before, and it was different, and the whole situation just kind of… left an impression on me."

Piper looked up at Alex, who was just smirking at her. "Uh huh," Alex nodded slowly before clearing her throat. "Well, I read your assignment, and it seems like your setting isn't fully developed. Like, I get nothing from the way you describe the setting, you know? All you say that it's a sunny spring day. You don't tell me whether it's warm, or how bright the sun is, or what the crowd looks like."

"But what does it matter?" Piper asked. "It's set outside, that's all the audience should need to know."

"No it isn't," Alex shot back. "It could be a sunny day in April, but only forty degrees outside, so you would have people walking around in coats and sweaters. Or it could be seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit, like it was the day we met, and everyone is walking around in tee shirts and dresses. Details like that give your audience context."

"Oh," was all Piper could say, but Alex kept going. "And the descriptions aren't just for the audience, they're for the actors as well. For example, if someone was playing you, and you just grabbed my face and kissed me," Alex smirked at that. "You need to tell the actress how to react afterwards. Is she cool and collected? Is she in shock? Does her voice shake? Does she take a moment to breathe? These are important questions Pipes."

"Wow," Piper said, sighing deeply. "You're really amazing at this."

"Shut up," Alex rolled her eyes.

"No, seriously," Piper insisted. "You really know your stuff. You know how to get at the emotions of a scene. You should be a theater major instead of me."

Alex scoffed. "Yeah right. I want to be employed when I graduate," Alex teased with a smile, recalling their earlier discussion.

"Shut up," Piper shot back with a grin, playfully shoving Alex as she laughed. "Seriously though, why are you taking this class?"

"Oh," Alex said, her voice turning serious. She grabbed her glasses from the top of her head, adjusting them over her eyes before responding. "I – uh – had a hard time adjusting to school my first semester here. Partied too hard, made the wrong type of friends, that kind of stuff. Ended up failing my English requirement, along with a couple of others. I decided to stick around this summer to catch up before I started my senior year, and the Department Chair said this could count as an English class. So, here I am."

"Well, you definitely belong," Piper smiled softly, inching a little closer to Alex. "You're really talented."

"Thanks Pipes," Alex smiled, holding Piper's gaze. Eventually, Piper glanced away, shaking her head slightly.

"So, what should I do about this?" Piper asked, gesturing to her assignment.

"Why don't you work on adding more detail to the setting, as well as the stage directions, and I'll look it over and help you if you need it?" Alex replied uncertainly.

"Okay," Piper nodded, looking down at her work.

They worked silently for the next hour; Piper worked on her script while Alex read an assignment for a History Class she was taking. Eventually, Piper put her pen down and pushed her script toward Alex, feeling like she was finished.

Alex re-read her work closely before looking up. "This is really great Piper," Alex said sincerely. "There's so much more description than the first time around. You really went a lot more in depth."

"Thank you," Piper blushed as Alex handed back her assignment, stuffing it in her bag. They sat in an awkward silence for a moment before Piper spoke again.

"Well, I better get going," Piper stood. "I promised a friend I would meet them in Amherst for dinner, so I need to head out."

"Okay," Alex nodded, leading Piper towards the front door and opening it.

"You're work is really great Piper," Alex said as she leaned against the doorframe. "Don't listen to your parents. If you work at it, I'm sure you'll do amazing things with a Theater Degree."

"Thank you," Piper said, surprised. She wasn't used to someone praising her as much as Alex had today, and it was a little overwhelming. She didn't know what it meant.

So she did something a little reckless.

She leaned in, and kissed the corner of Alex's mouth.

"Thank you for your help," Piper repeated softly as Alex stared at her intently. "You're an amazing teacher."

"See you Thursday," Alex replied simply, standing in her doorway as Piper stepped into the hall.

"Bye Alex," Piper turned and walked away, her mind on overdrive. Alex made her nervous, like she was never on solid ground. But she excited her in a way that Piper hadn't felt in a long time, not since her first boyfriend Bobby Sands kissed her at her eighth grade formal. Piper didn't know how to act around Alex, but at the same time, Alex made her feel safe and comfortable in her own skin, and she didn't know how to reconcile those feelings.

Piper was straight. Piper had only ever dated boys. But hanging out with Alex seemed different. Alex made Piper feel different. _Alex_ was different.

And Piper didn't know what to do.

* * *

 _A/N 2: I hope you all enjoyed this part! It felt a little weak in parts, and I'm not sure how I feel about it, but it's been so long since I posted, I wanted to give you guys something. I don't know why I love writing college Alex and Piper so much; part of it's probably because I just graduated from college recently, and I also think it gives Piper some freedom to explore who she is as a person, which is always fun to write. Anyway, let me know if you want to see more!  
_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N 1: Hey guys! Thank you for all the wonderful reviews, you guys rock and you're all truly amazing. So here's part 2 of 3. This is the longest update I've ever written, so I hope you like it, and let me know what you think!_

* * *

We Looked Like Giants – Part 2

Chapter 2: Piper Chapman

That night, Piper had a difficult time concentrating.

She was on a date. A second date to be precise, with a guy Polly knew through Pete, a UMASS student named Larry. Their first date had been nice; Larry was fumbling and a little awkward, but was definitely sweet, and she had enjoyed herself a few weeks ago.

But Piper hadn't just spent an afternoon with Alex Vause before her last date with Larry, hadn't spent the afternoon realizing how intelligent and talented was, hadn't kissed Alex Vause goodbye as she left her apartment. And now, she was a little…distracted.

"Um, Piper?"

Piper's head snapped up, looking at Larry with wide eyes. Plastering a smile on her face, she tried to get herself to focus. "Yes?"

"Is everything alright?" Larry asked, concerned. "I just asked you like three times how your food was, and you didn't answer."

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry Larry," Piper apologized quickly. "I just… I had a tough day in my theater class, and I can't stop thinking about it."

"I'm sure you'll do great," Larry placated, smiling. "You're one of the smartest people I know, you'll pull through."

"Thanks," Piper smiled, but she couldn't help but miss Alex's comforting words earlier this afternoon.

For the rest of the evening, Piper made sure to focus her attention on Larry and their date. She found herself having a good time, and was a little sad when Larry drove her back to her dorm. She smiled gratefully when Larry opened the car after they parked in front of her building, and she squeezed his hand briefly as they walked to the door.

"I had a really nice time tonight Piper," Larry smiled when they reached Piper's door.

"Yeah," Piper said, smiling. "Me too."

"Maybe we can get together again sometime soon."

"Sure," Piper nodded.

Larry smiled at her, leaning in. Piper let her eyes fall shut as Larry's lips pressed gently against hers.

Surprisingly, Piper didn't feel what she expected to feel. She didn't really feel much of anything.

She didn't feel the rush, the electricity, or the excitement she felt when she kissed Alex Vause. It didn't make her want more, didn't make her lean in further, deepen the kiss.

As Larry pulled away, Piper forced a smile on her face. "Goodnight Larry."

"Goodnight Piper," Larry grinned, squeezing her hand as he turned and left.

Piper rushed to unlock her door, pushing it open quickly and shutting it firmly. She turned around, pushing her back against the door as she slid down against it.

"Shit," Piper groaned into her empty room. She had felt nothing, absolutely nothing. She had had fun with Larry on their date, but it felt more like hanging out with a friend, not someone she was romantically interested in. It wasn't like hanging out with Alex, where everything was new, and fresh, and exciting. She wasn't sure she could keep seeing Larry, and Piper was pretty sure it was because of Alex.

* * *

"So how was your dinner on Tuesday?" Alex asked after Theater on Thursday.

"Meh," Piper shrugged, gathering her books.

"What happened" Alex asked, her tone giving away her curiosity.

"Nothing happened," Piper rolled her eyes as she moved out of the classroom, Alex following close behind.

"So there was no friend drama to make your night so _meh_?"

"No," Piper said firmly. "I was just really looking forward to dinner on Thursday, and it didn't quite live up to expectation."

"Well, do you want to talk about it?" Alex asked.

"No," Piper snapped, abruptly leaving the Theater building and heading across campus. She didn't want to talk about her dinner with Larry. She didn't want to talk about how she stayed up for hours on Tuesday night wondering whether she was developing feelings for Alex. And she didn't want to spend time talking to Alex in case she ended up more confused than she already was. Piper Chapman did _not_ like girls. Piper Chapman was _not_ gay.

Suddenly, a hand wrapped around her wrist and tugged her to the right.

"What the fuck?" Piper exclaimed, wrenching her hand from Alex's grip as she was dragged into the student center.

"Come on, we're getting coffee," Alex replied as she reached to grab Piper's arm again.

"Why?" Piper asked. "I don't want coffee."

"Because," Alex began, ignoring Piper's instruction and dragging her towards the small coffee shop. "You are in a shitty mood, and as your friend, it's my duty to make you feel better."

"Hmm," Piper grumped as Alex ordered, and Piper stepped up to the next cashier. They didn't speak as they waited for their coffees, but Piper followed Alex to a table anyway and sat down across from her.

"This really isn't necessary," Piper said after a few seconds of awkward silence.

"Trust me, it is," Alex said with a wry smile. "We have plans to work on our script later this afternoon, and I definitely don't want to deal with Bitchy Piper during that."

Piper couldn't help but crack a smile and giggle at that. "Shut up. I am not that bitchy."

"Uh huh, sure," Alex laughed, before her face turned serious. "You know you can talk to me, right? I don't know your other friends, so it may be good to get an objective person's opinion every once and a while."

"Thanks Alex," Piper smiled gratefully. "You really are a good friend."

"I just have to make sure you do most of the work on this project so I can pass," Alex smiled, her voice teasing.

As Piper laughed, she briefly thought about what she said. Alex Vause was just a friend. She was just confused because Alex was a new friend, and making a new friend was exciting. That was it, nothing more.

* * *

Coffee became a weekly thing. Every Thursday after class, Alex and Piper would head over to the student center, grab a coffee, and chat about class, their fellow students, or life in general. It was all very normal, and is exactly what Piper would do with any one of her friends.

But with Alex, it felt different.

Alex was smart, witty, and sarcastic; Piper felt as if she could have endless conversations with her about everything and nothing. She laughed at Piper's awkwardness and her lame attempts to appear cool. She helped Piper with her script writing in exchange for Piper helping Alex with history. She was well read, and usually gave Piper a book to borrow couple of days, insisting that Piper would love it. And every time, Piper did.

Alex was intelligent, hilarious, and beautiful. She was everything Piper realized she had been looking for.

Except Alex was a girl. And they were friends.

"I don't understand how you can _not_ like _Waiting For Godot,_ " Alex said with exasperation as they waited in line for their coffee one Thursday in July.

"I just didn't like it," Piper shrugged, rolling her eyes.

"But you there's so much room for interpretation!"

"I'd rather have a work with just a couple of possible symbols and interpretations rather than endless possibilities. Can we please stop talking about this?" Piper groaned as she stepped up to the cashier, Alex surprisingly stepping up with her.

"Can I get a large hot black coffee, and a medium nonfat latte please," Alex ordered before Piper could even open her mouth. Piper turned to stare at her, but Alex just shrugged. "You order the same thing every time, and it's faster this way."

"Well, let me give you money – " Piper began before Alex cut her off.

"Don't worry about it Pipes."

"But –"

"Seriously, Piper," Alex insisted. "I got it."

"Okay," Piper sighed as she put her wallet away. "But I'm getting it next time."

"Next Thursday," Alex nodded.

"It's a date," Piper confirmed, smiling, before she realized what she said. "I mean… we just get coffee every Thursday… so I was just…"

"Breathe kid," Alex laughed, grabbing their coffees from the barista and handing Piper her latte. "I know what you meant."

"Thanks," Piper muttered, feeling her cheeks heat.

"Now come on, we have to figure out the next scene for our assignment."

* * *

Maybe she did like girls.

That thought crossed Piper's mind shortly after the Fourth of July, when she had spent a long weekend up at school by herself while the other students went home. She had been reading one of the books Alex had given her, but her thoughts eventually drifted from the book to Alex. She hadn't heard from Alex since coffee on Thursday, when Alex said she was heading off campus for the long weekend. As she thought about Alex, the _maybe I do like girls_ idea crossed her mind, and she couldn't take it anymore.

She first turned to the internet, googling (in a private browser, obviously) "How do you know if you're gay?" The internet search was not as helpful as she hoped it would be; website after website appeared to be making a joke of the question, and those that offered serious content just confused Piper more. She even took that stupid Kinsey Scale test three different times, first getting a score of 3, then a 2, and then a 4. Piper had no idea what that meant, but she definitely knew it didn't help her.

Which led her to calling Polly on Saturday night, and asking for her to come up for lunch on Sunday. Polly readily agreed, excited to hear about what Smith was like during the summer, as well as tell Piper all about her vacation with Pete and his family.

They met at a local coffee shop for lunch, and Polly immediately launched into a monologue about her life. After a while, Polly turned the conversation onto Piper.

"So," Polly grinned. "How was your date with Larry? He told Pete he had a really good time."

"It was okay," Piper smiled, forcing a smile.

"Do you want to see him again? He really likes you."

Piper grimaced a little. "I don't Polly, I really don't. Can we talk about something else please?"

"Oookay," Polly drawled. "What's it like being at school for the summer? How are your classes?"

"They're good," Piper nodded, clearing her throat. "I really like my theater class."

"Oh? What's it like?"

"We're currently working on a play. We had to each create a scene from our lives, and then we partnered up and had to expand one of our scenes into a full play. It's been a lot of fun."

"Interesting," Polly replied. "Is there anyone we know in this class?"

"Ummm," Piper could feel her face flush. "Kind of?"

"What do you mean kind of?" Polly questioned.

"Well, Alex is in class with me. She's actually my partner for our project."

"Who's Alex? I don't know anyone named Alex."

"She was the girl…from the Katy Perry concert," Piper answered quietly.

"What," Polly's brow furrowed thoughtfully, before her eyes widened suddenly in recognition. "You mean the girl you kissed?"

"Shhh," Piper hissed, glanced around quickly. "Yes, that Alex."

"Oh my god!" Polly exclaimed, giggling a little. "Did she like, force you to work with her?"

"Well, she asked me-" Piper started before Polly cut her off.

"Awkward!" Polly half sang. "Is it weird? Does she try to hit on you? How many times have you had to tell her you're straight?"

"She doesn't hit on me!" Piper insisted. "And it's complicated."

"What do you mean it's complicated?" Polly asked suspiciously.

"It's just…" Piper trailed off, unsure how to continue.

"Oh my GOD!" Polly shrieked. "She turned you gay!"

"Polly! Shut up!" Piper exclaimed back, eyes darting around the coffee shop to make sure no one was listening. "Alex didn't _turn_ me gay."

"Then why are you telling me that it's complicated?"

"Because, her kissing me didn't turn me gay. But, she's smart, and funny, and an amazing writer, and she's really good at making me feel better when I'm having a crappy day."

"So what, you spend time with her and you just happen to develop a crush on her?"

"It's not a crush," Piper tried to insist.

"Wait," Polly's eyes widened, and she straightened in her seat. "Have you ever had a crush on me?"

"No Polly, don't be ridiculous! I've known you forever."

"Just checking," Polly nodded. "But Piper, you can't honestly tell me that her kissing you and you developing these feelings are a coincidence."

"Maybe not," Piper allowed. "But Polly, I've never felt anything like that from a kiss before. From anyone. So I don't know what it means."

"I don't know Piper," Polly shrugged.

"That's it? No words of advice?" Piper exclaimed helplessly.

"Piper, I've never really been in your kind of situation before," Polly shot back before her voice softened. "I wish I could help Piper, but I'm kind of lost here."

"Yeah, I get it," Piper sighed.

"But," Polly began thoughtfully. "If you really think you like her, you may as well explore it."

"Thanks Pol," Piper sighed, smiling slightly.

* * *

Ten days after her lunch with Polly, Piper finally got up the nerve to ask Alex.

They were working on their theater project. They had ended up picking Alex's scenes, which was a relief for Piper. The kiss between her and Alex was not something she wanted to share with her theater class, and it seemed like Alex felt the same way. So, Alex's scene it was.

They had already worked out the meeting between Alex and her father, as well as the aftermath, but they were both struggling a little with the beginning. Piper wasn't very good at externalizing internal emotions in a scene yet, and Alex was less than thrilled at actually having to describe her feelings out loud.

"What were you most worried about when it came to meeting your dad?" Piper asked quietly as they worked in the library.

"I hoped that he would like me," Alex admitted.

Piper paused for a moment before continuing. "Were you worried about what he would think when he found out about you being gay?"

"I really hadn't planned that far ahead, Pipes," Alex scoffed, looking at her laptop screen.

"But would you have been worried?" Piper pressed.

"No, not really," Alex snapped. "He wasn't in my life for the first eighteen years of my life, so I wasn't really planning on him being a doting father. Was I hoping for someone who would actually give a fuck that he had a daughter? Yes. But I wasn't expecting us to immediately have the kind of relationship I have with my mom."

"Sorry," Piper murmured, her eyes trained on her notebook.

"It's fine," Alex muttered. "But yeah, I think I would have been nervous."

Piper paused for a minute before finally asking. "How did you know you were gay?"

Alex's eyes shot up, studying Piper closely. Piper stared back, very much hoping that Alex would tell her.

"I think I realized when I was fourteen," Alex began. "I had been made fun of a lot in elementary and middle school, so I didn't really think about it much. But when I went off to high school, my middle school joined with the other school in my town; it was a whole new group of people."

"But how did you know?" Piper prodded.

"Um, I think my first crush was on a girl a couple of years older than me. I hung out with a lot of the art students and the theater kids. She was in a drawing class with me, and sat right by me. We were just friendly at first, but then we were joking around one day, and I made her laugh, and I just _knew._ Knew that I liked her, really, really liked her. And I never really questioned it."

"What happened?" Piper asked.

"We hooked up for a while," Alex shrugged. "It wasn't really a big deal or a real relationship, just some fun. She actually designed this for me," Alex pushed up her tee-shirt a little, pointing out the large rose on her arm that Piper had seen several times.

"When did you tell your mom?"

"A couple months after I figured it out. I wasn't expecting it to be a big deal, and it wasn't. My mom is the best, and she was totally supportive."

"That's great," Piper smiled.

"Pipes?" Alex asked, her voice unusually timid. "Why are you asking?"

"Oh," Piper cleared her throat, fidgeting a little. "No real reason, just trying to get in the head of eighteen year old Alex." She forced a smile, hoping Alex would buy it.

Alex studied her briefly, before smiling back. "Well, the gay thing wasn't really on my mind with my dad, so it's not worth getting into."

"Right," Piper nodded, focusing back on her work.

Alex had said she just looked at some girl, and just knew she was gay. Piper wasn't sure she knew, exactly, but Alex's story was definitely eye opening.

* * *

Piper wasn't sure why she was here.

She had seen the posters and flyers around campus, with flashy signs advertising "Ladies Night", "18+", and "Burlesque Show". And Piper was just the right amount of bored and curious to check it out.

She was bored sitting around her room every night by herself. At first, she had embraced the nights alone, but now that August had rolled around, she was feeling restless, and was itching to spend a night out with people.

She was also curious. After her conversation with Alex, Piper continued to constantly turn over in her mind whether or not she was gay, and she still couldn't say for sure. So, when she saw the flyers, part of her wanted to come in order to settle the matter. If she was turned on by the burlesque girls, then she was a lesbian, if not, then maybe she wasn't really into Alex. Maybe they were just really good friends. Or maybe she wasn't attracted to girls, just attracted to Alex. Maybe this burlesque show wasn't going to prove anything at all, Piper thought. But she was already here, so she may as well stay for the show.

Piper had been sitting by the bar, drinking a glass of water when she heard cheering farther down the restaurant. Turning toward the noise, she was surprised to find Alex sitting at one of the bar tables with three or four other girls. Almost instinctively, Piper caught herself thinking that Alex looked good in her v-neck, but shook her head slightly to get rid of the thought.

She watched as Alex played quarters, smiling a little when Alex missed and was forced to take a shot. Shaking her head, Alex excused herself from her friends, moving to the back of the bar towards the bathroom Piper ducked her head down as Alex passed near her, but after a moment's hesitation, decided to follow Alex.

Thankfully, Alex was waiting in line for the bathroom when Piper reached her, and was the only one in line. Piper approached awkwardly, but Piper apparently didn't hear her, as she didn't turn around.

"Hey," Piper finally spoke up timidly.

Alex turned around, her expression one of surprise before smiling at Piper. "Hey," the brunette husked, before looking around the bar. "What're you doing here?"

"Oh, um," Piper stumbled, feeling a little embarrassed. "I'm here for the burlesque show. You?"

"My friend Rachel decided to do it. It's her first time performing, but she says she wants to do an act with a Ray Romano puppet, which she swears is surprisingly sexy," Alex trailed off with a chuckle, and Piper laughed along with her before they ended up in silence again.

Alex again glanced around the bar before turning her focus back to Piper. "So, are you here with anyone?"

"Me? No," Piper scoffed. "I was just kind of getting bored sitting around my room along every night, and I saw the flyers, so I figured I would try it out."

"Huh," was Alex's response, opening her mouth to speak before the bathroom door opened, and a body wedged between them as a girl left the bathroom. After the girl squeezed past them, Alex spoke again. "Do you want to come sit with my friends?"

"Oh, no, it's okay, I don't want to interrupt," Piper began before Alex interjected.

"No, seriously, come sit with us. You'll look creepy sitting by yourself," Alex laughed as Piper cracked a smile. "Plus, you aren't twenty one yet, right?"

"No," Piper admitted.

"Well then, I'll by you drinks. Come on, it'll be fun." Alex urged, and Piper smiled at her again.

"Fine," Piper half groaned as Alex grinned back at her.

"Great. Let me just use the bathroom, and I'll introduce you to everyone."

A few minutes later, Alex was leading Piper to her table of friends. Piper was introduced briefly to three girls, Nicky, Poussey, and Rachel, and they restarted their game of quarters. Alex bowed out, instead spending her time watching Piper, who was surprisingly good, and sneaking Piper margarita's. Eventually, Rachel had to head backstage for the show, and the remaining girls began talking about their upcoming classes for the fall.

When the show finally started, Piper tried to pay attention to the dancers and acts, she really did. However, she kept finding herself distracted. Whenever a new girl would appear on stage, she would quickly turn her attention to Alex, gauging her reaction. Sometimes Alex would glance at her, making a face at her or smiling, but mostly, Piper just found herself staring at the way Alex's eyes scrunched when she laughed, how she would adjust her glasses when she liked what she saw, and the way she cocked her head when she was confused. Piper spent the night studying Alex rather than studying the other girls, and found it way more fulfilling.

Several hours, and margaritas, later, the group was making their way out of the bar. As Nicky, Poussey, and Rachel waved goodbye to Piper, Alex stopped suddenly and turned toward her.

"Did you call a cab?" Alex asked.

"No, I'll be fine, it's just a short walk," Piper replied, turning to head toward campus.

"Piper, you are not walking back to your dorm alone," Alex insisted, concern in her voice.

"I'll be fine Alex, I do it all the time," Piper tried to reassure her.

"There are more people around during the semester," Alex shot back. "It's safer then. Campus is mostly empty now, it isn't safe."

"Well, I didn't drive here, so I don't have another choice."

"I'll drive you home," Alex stated.

"Alex, you can't drive, you've been drinking," Piper said incredulously.

"No I haven't, not in hours anyway. I've been buying you drinks all night, I haven't had anything to drink."

"You promise?" Piper asked solemnly as Alex grabbed her wrist, lightly pulling her toward an older model Toyota.

"Promise," Alex replied, opening the passenger door for Piper before slipping into the driver's side.

They rode the short distance in silence, Piper staring at Alex as she drove. When they reached her dorm, Alex cut the engine, and Piper scrambled to get out of the car.

"You'll be okay getting up there Pipes?" Alex asked as she reached Piper's side of the car.

"Yeah, I'm good," Piper replied, nodding her head and causing her long, blonde hair to fall from behind her ears. "Thank you for inviting me to sit with you guys tonight, I had a good time."

Alex smiled, cautiously moving her hand up to Piper's face, tucking the errant strand of hair back behind Piper's ears and skimming her hand the rest of the way down Piper's hair.

"Anytime, kid," Alex replied, her voice uncharacteristically softer than usual. "See you Tuesday?"

Piper nodded. "See you Tuesday."

And with that, Alex turned around and headed back towards her car, only glancing around once to smile and wave.

As she made her way back to her dorm, Piper knew she was screwed. Tonight definitely answered a lot of questions for her, and definitely gave her the answer she was looking for.

She was in love with Alex Vause.

* * *

Today was the day. Their script was due today, and Piper was a bundle of nerves She really wanted to do well on this project, it was worth two thirds of her grad when combined with the final.

Alex had let Piper hold on to the script file, for which Piper was grateful. She had spent countless hours looking it over, making sure the grammar was correct, the font was the right style, everything. And now, here she was, fidgeting at her desk with their twenty page script sitting in front of her.

"Piper, stop," Alex half groaned as she slid into her own seat.

"I'm not doing anything," Piper retorted.

"I can literally hear you freaking out in your mind," Alex smirked.

"Well, I'm stressed," Piper snapped.

"I know," Alex agreed, her voice soft. "But you don't need to be. We worked so hard on this project, and we kicked ass on this script, and you're going to ace this final. Okay?"

Piper took a deep breath. "Okay," she nodded.

"Good," Alex smiled. "Meet me for coffee after the exam?"

"Of course," Piper replied as Professor Stanton quieted the class, ready to begin the final.

The exam really wasn't all that hard, not that Piper was expecting it to be It was largely based on the terms and definitions they learned in class, with a brief essay in which she had to describe the tone and theme of a scene based on the script. Alex finished early, and Piper glanced up as Alex walked to the front of the room to drop off her exam. Alex turned on her way out the door, catching Piper's eye and flashing a reassuring smile. Piper smiled back quickly before returning to her test.

Knowing that Alex was waiting for her made Piper move through the exam a little faster, and she finished about ten minutes later. She rushed to the coffee shop, where Alex was already waiting with Piper's order.

"It wasn't that bad," Piper said as soon as she flopped into the chair.

"Nope," Alex agreed, raising her coffee cup. "To us. We survived."

"To us," Piper repeated, smiling as she toasted her cup with Alex's. "It's weird that we're done though."

"Why," Alex scoffed. "I'm so glad I can just relax for a couple of weeks until the semester starts."

"Well, yeah," Piper agreed, her face flushing slightly. "But it'll be weird not seeing you."

"What do you mean?" Alex asked, eyebrow raised.

"I've just gotten so used to seeing you, that it'll be weird not spending time with you," Piper admitted softly.

"Hey," Alex said, smiling at her. "You are not going to get rid of me that easily Pipes. When we get our final grades for Theater, and you realize that we aced this class, you are going to come over to my apartment and we are going to celebrate and drink the day away. And when classes start up again, you better believe we'll have weekly lunches or coffees or whatever. We're _friends_ Pipes. That doesn't go away now that summer classes are over."

Piper's heart melted at Alex's words, and it took a lot for her not to just tell Alex she loved her right there. "You're the best," Piper substituted instead.

"Aww, Pipes, don't get all emotional on me, I hate criers," Alex snickered, and Piper tried to kick her from under the table.

"I will _not_ miss that sarcasm," she shot back before both girls began laughing again.

* * *

Piper was running to Alex's apartment. Full on running to her apartment, like an idiot. Some of the athletes, who were already back at school for sports training, kept shooting her weird looks as she ran across campus in flip flops and jean shorts. But she had to get to Alex's, she had to.

She had gotten an A in Writing for the Theater. They had gotten an A on their final project and she had gotten an A on her final, and now she had to find Alex. They had to celebrate. Alex promised they would celebrate.

She reached Alex's apartment, out of breath as she climbed to the second floor, and knocked on Alex's door. After a moment, Alex opened the door, her black hair falling across her shoulders, wearing just a white tank top and jeans. Without thinking, Piper launched herself at Alex, throwing her arms around her shoulders.

"Whoa," Alex said, surprised, but wrapped her arms around Piper nonetheless.

"We did it Alex," Piper said softly into her neck. "We got an A on our script, and I got an A in the class!"

Alex squeezed her briefly before pulling away. "That's great Pipes! I told you that you'd be fine."

"Yeah," Piper blushed. "But you helped a lot."

"Eh, I did what I could," Alex shrugged before smirking widely. "And now, I believe I owe you a drink and a celebration."

"Yes please!" Piper exclaimed as Alex led her into her apartment.

"You're lucky, I bought tequila just for the occasion."

"Why?" Piper asked, trying to remember why Alex would know that.

"Because, if those margaritas I was buying you a couple of weeks ago was any indication, you really love tequila," Alex said as she handed Piper a shot.

"Oh, right," Piper giggled, gulping the drink down and grimacing slightly. "Got any chasers, like orange juice?"

"Sure kid," Alex said, moving to her fridge, pulling out a carton of orange juice and two beers. "Can you grab the tequila for me? Let's move this party into the living room."

One drink became two drinks and two drinks became four drinks and now Piper's head was delightfully dizzy.

She and Alex were just hanging out, half watching some sit-com while just laughing at each other.

"Seriously Alex, you fractured your fingers for a dare?" Piper exclaimed loudly.

"Of course! I have a reputation to uphold."

"You're ridiculous," Piper laughed, before sobering a little. "I'm going to miss hanging out with you."

"Why do you keep acting like I'm dying?" Alex asked, her words overly annunciated. "I'm still going to be around."

"Yeah, but you'll be busy with classes, and friends, and stuff," Piper argued.

"And I told you I'd make time for you," Alex affirmed, before holding out her hand. "Give me your phone."

"What, why?' Piper gasped.

"Because, you seem so convinced that I'm going to forget about you I'm going to set up an appointment in our phones. Do you have any classes on Thursdays at two?"

"No," Piper shook her head vigorously.

"Okay, every Thursday at two it is," Alex said, typing a reminder into her phone before grabbing Piper's to do the same. "Classes start this coming Monday, right?"

"Yup."

"Okay, so then, in exactly one week, we will meet for coffee at two," Alex handed Piper her phone back, staring deeply into the blonde's eyes. "It's a date."

Maybe it was because Piper was drunk and she felt brave. Or maybe it was because Alex had called it a date. Or maybe because she was so damn tired of not telling Alex how she felt, but Piper scooted closer to Alex on the couch so that their knees were touching.

"A date?" Piper whispered, ducking her head closer to Alex. "Do you promise?"

"I promise," Alex agreed, tilting her head towards Piper.

Piper was about to take that final step, and close the gap between her and Alex, when she heard the lock click on the front door.

Simultaneously, Alex and Piper jumped a part, with Alex jumping to her feet as another girl entered. The girl was shorter than Alex, her mousy brown hair pulled into a ponytail. She immediately stopped when she saw Piper on the couch, her eyes narrowing and darting between Alex and Piper.

"Who the hell is this?" the stranger exclaimed, her voice hostile.

"My friend," Alex said, stepping into the path of the girl and Piper, as if to shield Piper from the girl's wrath. "What are you doing here Sylvie?"

"I decided to come up a couple of days early to surprise you, since I hadn't seen or really heard from you since the fourth of July," the girl, _Sylvie,_ said, her voice still wary. "And I haven't met this friend before Alex."

"This is Piper," Alex explained, turning to gesture to Piper, her eyes apologetic. "She was in my Theater class. Remember, she's the one I was writing the project with?"

"Oh," Sylvie's eyes softened, just a tad.

"Piper, this is Sylvie, Sylvia," Alex began before Sylvia cut her off.

"I'm her girlfriend," Sylvia interjected, her voice challenging. Piper's eyes widened slightly as she flicked a glance to Alex, who just rolled her eyes.

"Your girlfriend?" Piper said unbelievingly, staring at Alex.

"Um, yes… yeah, my girlfriend," Alex stuttered, which Piper found odd. Alex was always concise with her words, she said what she meant, and didn't beat around the bush. She never stuttered.

"Alex, I though you handed in that project like last week?" Sylvia asked, oblivious to what was happening between Alex and Piper.

"We did," Alex said, turning back to Sylvia and forcing a smile. "We just found out today that we aced it, and Piper came over to celebrate."

"Well congratulations," Sylvia said to Piper, smiling at her, but Piper could tell her smile wasn't really genuine. Suddenly, Piper felt really sober, and she felt like she had to get out of there. Out of Alex's apartment, and run back to her room.

"Um, I should get going," Piper said, standing quickly. Alex whipped back around to face her, eyes wide.

"Go?" Alex said incredulously. "Why would you go? You don't have to leave."

"No, it's totally fine. You two haven't seen each other since the beginning of July. I'm sure you guys want to spend some time alone together." Piper felt as if her heart was in her throat, and she knew she was just a few minutes away from tears. She had to get out of there. Now.

"At least let me walk you home," Alex pleaded softly. "I don't want you walking home alone drunk."

"Alex, I'll be fine," Piper insisted.

"Seriously Pipes–" Alex began, but Piper cut her off as soon as she used her nickname, the one that only Alex called her.

"Alex, I'll be fine. I'm not even drunk, just a little buzzed. It's still practically light out, the sun is just starting to set. And the athletes are back on campus. And your girlfriend," Piper paused, swallowing a sob as Alex closed her eyes briefly and ran a hand through her hair. "Your girlfriend drove all this way to see you."

Alex nodded slowly before speaking. "Okay. I'll see you next week though, right?"

Piper just nodded, looking over Alex's shoulder to Sylvia. "It was nice meeting you."

"You too," Sylvia replied cheerfully as Piper turned, opened Alex's apartment door, and walked out.

As soon as she stepped outside, Piper started running again. This time, she ran all the way back to her room. She ran all the way up to her third floor dorm room, down the hall and into her room. She shucked off her flip flops and jumped into her bed, pulling the sheet up over her despite the heat.

Alex had a girlfriend. Piper honestly didn't see it coming, but she supposed she should have. Alex was a catch, god, she was everything that Piper was looking for. But she also never really led Piper on. Alex had called Piper her friend numerous times; there was never any flirting, no seduction, no nothing. Piper was the one doing the pursuing, falling in love with Alex, wanting more. It was all Piper, and it was apparently all in Piper's head.

She felt like her chest had been ripped in two. From the moment she had kissed Alex, she had felt like they had a connection, that they kept moving towards each other and finding each other, almost as if they were inevitable.

And now Piper was going to have to get over that inevitability, because though Alex Vause felt inevitable to her, she clearly wasn't inevitable to Alex Vause.

* * *

 _A/N2: I hope you guys liked this update! The last part will be from Alex's point of view, so I hope you guys stick around. I'm going to try my hardest to get it out before Season 3 comes out on the 12, and I think I'll be able to make that happen, as long as the next update doesn't turn into a monster update._

 _On an unrelated note, I said in one of my fics that I'm kind of new to the OITNB fandom, but I do have a tumblr at_ piiperchpmn _(the link is on my profile/bio page)._ _I don't mean to plug it, but none of my friends watch the show, so I don't have anyone really to obsess over it with. If anyone wants to chat about oitnb or submit story suggestions there, I'd love to chat/hear your story prompts._

 _Anyway, until next time! Thank you so much for reading!_


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: I'm the worst. Work got crazy, and then Orange premiered early, so I binge watched it, and then rewatched it to try and figure out what the hell the writers did to Piper Chapman. This chapter also ended up being my longest one yet, so it took a while to get it finished. I'm still not a hundred percent okay with how it ended, and I may do an epilogue, but for right now, I'm marking it as complete. Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed so far, I hope you like this chapter!_

* * *

Week 1

Alex had to find Piper.

She wasn't one hundred percent sure why, but she felt like she had to find her. Last night, when Sylvia showed up unannounced, Piper looked _so_ devastated, and that had shaken Alex. She didn't want to think about that look, she didn't know what it meant, and she didn't want to get her hopes up for something that she was probably imagining.

So she had texted Piper yesterday to see if she was okay, and had gotten no response. So, she tried again. And again. And again. Seven unanswered texts later, Alex was seeking out Piper Chapman.

She figured Piper's room would be the best place to start. She knew where Piper's dorm was, though she had never been inside. She managed to sneak in behind a couple of juniors, casually asking them if they knew where Piper Chapman lived.

Finally reaching Piper's third floor dorm room, Alex knocked on the door. Alex could hear shuffling on the other side of the door, and breathed a sigh of relief when the dorm room door opened, though the sigh caught in her throat as she laid eyes on Piper.

"Pipes," Alex slipped out softly, unthinking. Piper looked terrible. Her eyes were bloodshot, bags were prominent under her eyes, and her hair was pulled up in a messy bun.

"Alex?" Piper's eyes widened, clearly surprised to see her there.

"Are you alright?" Alex blurted out, unable to comprehend why Piper looked so crushed, like she had been up all night.

"Fine," Piper replied, unable to look Alex in the eye. "Just couldn't get any sleep."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Alex," Piper's voice was sharp, quashing any further questions from Alex. "What do you want?"

"I- I just wanted to see how you were," Alex cringed at her own voice, which sounded weak and timid. "You left pretty fast yesterday."

"Well, I didn't want to interrupt your time with your girlfriend," Piper muttered.

"It's complicated," Alex couldn't help but say. She felt like she owed Piper an explanation. She wanted to tell Piper that Sylvia wasn't her girlfriend, she was more of a friends with benefits, nothing official or serious. But Alex knew that it wouldn't really matter to Piper, and she couldn't figure out how to make Piper see that Sylvia wasn't that important to her without acknowledging that she kept something from Piper. And she couldn't figure out why it mattered that Piper knew that she didn't have a girlfriend.

"Whatever," Piper murmured, still staring at the floor. "Is that all? Because Polly's going to be here soon, and I have to get dressed."

"Yeah, I guess that's all," Alex instinctively reached out to rub Piper's arm, but thought better of it. "Are we still on for Thursday?"

"Sure, if you want," Piper replied, stepping back into her dorm. "See you next week."

"See you," Alex said as Piper shut the door.

Alex stood in front of Piper's room for a minute, unmoving. She felt responsible for Piper's behavior and looks, but she wasn't sure how to fix it. She just wanted to fast forward to next Thursday when she could spend time with Piper again, and hopefully fix any whatever was bothering her.

* * *

Week 2

It was finally Thursday, and Alex sighed with relief as she sat down at her usual table in the student center, Piper's favorite coffee order in her hand. She was really looking forward to spending time with Piper. She missed the blonde, but hadn't been able to bring herself to text her since last Friday. She was hoping to pull some information on Piper and why she seemed so down. Alex glanced down at her phone; Piper should be here in about ten minutes.

Twenty five minutes later, and Alex was getting worried. Piper was never late, she always insisted on being anywhere ten minutes early. Alex checked her phone for the millionth time, but like the previous times, there was no message from Piper. Alex decided enough was enough, and she dialed Piper's number, pressing the phone to her ear.

Unsurprisingly, Alex's call went to voicemail after four or five rings, which angered the brunette. She began to text Piper telling her she was leaving when she felt something brush past her. "Sorry," a familiar voice said into her left ear as Piper passed her, sitting in the opposite chair in a huff. "I got caught up in a meeting with a professor."

"It's okay," Alex said quietly as she studied Piper. Piper's blonde hair was slightly disheveled, and curtained her face as she stared at her, now likely cold, coffee. "Pipes?"

Piper looked up, barely sparing Alex a glance. "Yeah?" She replied before turning her gaze from Alex to something over Alex's shoulder. Piper's eyes appeared to be slightly red, but Alex couldn't really tell.

"Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine Alex," Piper sighed, giving Alex a very clearly forced smile as she finally looked at Alex again. "How are your classes going?"

"Eh," Alex shrugged. "My marketing and business classes are pretty good, but my philosophy class is a drag. You would love it though, I can totally picture you spouting out random pieces of information and annoying the shit out the professor with all of your opinions."

"Shut up," Piper laughed, her smile genuine for the first time since last Thursday. Alex couldn't help but smile back, feeling light for the first time since Piper left her apartment.

"How are your classes?" Alex asked. "How are the theater classes this semester?"

"Oh you know, they're alright," Piper shrugged, still smiling at Alex. "I get a lot more work done without a certain pain in the ass sitting next to me an bothering me all class."

"Please," Alex scoffed, kicking Piper's leg under the table.

"Ouch," Piper exclaimed, feigning injury as she tried to kick Alex back, but missed. "You're the worst."

"Maybe," Alex grinned.

"Yo, Vause!" a familiar voice called across the student center, and Alex groaned softly. "I've been looking all over for you!"

Suddenly, Nicky came into view, sliding in the empty seat between Piper and Alex.

"Nicky," Alex nodded curtly, trying to make eye contact with her friend, who had shifted her gaze to Piper.

"It's Piper, right?" Nicky asked, and Piper nodded her response. "Nice to see you again. What are you two up to?"

"We're just grabbing coffee," Piper smiled politely.

"Yeah, _Nicky,_ " Alex said harshly, causing Nicky to turn to look at her, brows raised. "Piper and _I_ are getting coffee. We're trying to catch up because I haven't seen her all week."

Missing Alex's subtle hint to get Nicky to leave, her friend just smirked widely. "Oh I'm sure," Nicky laughed. "I heard Sylvia came up early to surprise you. Bet you didn't leave the bedroom for days."

"Nicky," Alex hissed, flicking her gaze over to Piper, who was now staring down into her coffee mug, her cheeks reddening.

"Oh please, don't even try to deny it," Nicky continued. "Remember that time last year when you home for Thanksgiving? You and Sylvia started going at it as soon as you both got back on Sunday-"

" _Nicky._ "

"And you missed the next three days of class because you couldn't keep your hands off each other. Man, I wish I had a girlfriend that could go all day like that."

"I'm gonna go," Piper announced suddenly, standing up and grabbing her coffee.

"What? Why?" Alex asked, suddenly feeling panicky.

"I um, I told Polly I'd meet her to go over some stuff for class," Piper muttered, staring intently down at her coffee.

"Pipes, you just got here," Alex replied, reaching for Piper's arm. "Please stay."

Piper backed away, out of Alex's grasp, before looking up to make eye contact briefly. "I really need to leave," she said quietly. "Nice to see you Nicky."

"You to Piper," Nicky half waved.

"Are we on for next Thursday?" Alex asked as Piper moved away from the table.

"Yeah, sure," Piper nodded as she quickly walked away from the group. Alex watched her go until Nicky spoke up.

"What was the matter with her?"

Alex rounded on Nicky, glaring at her. "What the hell? Piper and I were having coffee! Why would you interrupt that?"

Nicky's brow furrowed, confusion sweeping across her face as she answered. "I didn't realize you were on a date, Vause."

"It wasn't a date. We just made these plans last week, but Piper's been kind of weird recently, and I was worried she wasn't going to show up. She just started acting like herself before you came in and ruined it all by talking about sex."

Nicky held her hands up in surrender. "Sorry, didn't mean to ruin this for you or anything."

"It's fine," Alex amended.

"So, how is Sylvia?"

"She's fine," Alex said. "She just showed up to my apartment unannounced, and then acted pissy half the night because Piper was over when she showed up. I practically had to sit on her face to get her to shut up."

"So I guess you guys are back on?" Nicky laughed.

"I guess," Alex shrugged. "I think she wants a commitment."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Alex groaned. "She's been totally fine with the casual sex and dating thing for the past year, but she was really needy this summer. She kept begging for me to visit her, which is why I had to go down there for the Fourth of July."

"Are you not into being in a relationship with her?"

"I don't know," Alex sighed. "I really liked that it was simple, you know? We were together when we were at school, and we weren't together when we weren't here."

"Women," Nicky sighed.

"Yeah," Alex agreed.

* * *

Week 3

Piper was late. Again. Alex was trying to be patient, she really was, but she didn't know why Piper was late. She hadn't gotten a text, or anything from her. She hadn't really seen Piper last week, hadn't had a proper conversation with her since the night in her apartment, and she missed the younger blonde and her rambles.

"Hey," Piper said casually as she slid into the seat, not acknowledging that she was fifteen minutes late.

Alex opened her mouth to make a comment about Piper's lateness, but thought better of it when she actually looked at Piper.

"You cut your hair?" Alex said, incredulously. Piper's once long, blonde hair was gone, her hair now falling at her shoulders.

"Yeah," Piper shrugged, self-consciously running her hand through her hair. "I felt like a needed a change."

"Well, you definitely made a change," Alex replied.

Piper's eyes widened. "Do you not like it?" she asked quietly, glancing down at the table.

"No, Pipes, I love it," Alex said sincerely. "Seriously, you look hot. It's just different."

Piper looked up at Alex, smiling slightly. "I'm glad you like it," Piper's eyes widened at her admittance, and Alex noticed her cheeks beginning to redden. "I mean…I mean I'm glad I don't look terrible. I wasn't sure how it would look, my hair hasn't been this short in a while."

Alex swallowed heavily, suddenly focusing on Piper's face, on her wide, blue eyes, her lips, curled slightly up in a hopeful smile. Something clenched in Alex's chest, making it feel tight. Piper was beautiful, the most beautiful girl she had ever seen, and she needed to make sure Piper knew that. "It looks great, kid. You look hot."

"Thanks, I guess," Piper laughed, rolling her eyes disbelievingly, and Alex swore she felt her heart melt a little, even if it made her a little embarrassed to acknowledge.

Alex didn't have too long to think about her feelings. Piper just launched into a rant about one of her classmates, and Alex couldn't help but feel content that she and Piper were finally getting back to the way they were.

Week 4, Tuesday

It was 12:15 on a Tuesday, which meant that Alex had just enough time to head to the dining hall, grab something to eat, and run off to her 1:00 class.

She got to the dining hall in good time, and quickly grabbed a sandwich and a bag of chips before finding a small table to sit at. Alex didn't really mind eating alone, she didn't really like to linger during meals, and it gave her a chance to look over the reading for her philosophy class.

Finishing her sandwich, Alex took a quick glance around the hall as she flipped the page in her book. Feeling someone watching her, she turned to her right, and was met with Piper Chapman staring at her from across the dining hall, holding a coffee and banana in her hand, black backpack slung over her shoulders. Alex smiled slightly at Piper, giving her a half wave. Piper grinned back, nodding her head at Alex.

Alex gestured to the chair across from her, silently inviting Piper to join her. Piper's grin widened, if that was at all possible, and she took about five steps toward Alex before stopping suddenly, her smile fading. Alex shot her a confused look before she felt a pair of arms drape around her shoulders and a kiss planted on her cheek.

"Hey babe," Sylvia murmured into Alex's ear as she slid around Alex and into the vacated chair next her.

"Hey Sylvie," Alex mustered a smile, trying not to glance toward Piper. "What are you doing here?"

"Just grabbing lunch. I saw you and wanted to come sit with you," Sylvia stroked Alex's arm before pulling away slightly. "Why? Is that not okay?"

"No, of course it is," Alex said. "It's just, I have to head to class soon, so I don't want to leave you sitting by yourself."

"Aw, you're so sweet," Sylvia grinned, leaning in and kissing Alex lightly on the lips. Alex pulled away quickly, glancing around to see if Piper was still in the hall. She saw a flash of Piper's blonde hair as she made her way out of the dining hall, and Alex felt her heart sink.

 _It's okay,_ Alex told herself as she turned back to Sylvia. _You'll see her on Thursday, it'll be fine._

Week 4, Thursday

Alex had just sat down when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Pulling it out, she saw that it was a text from Piper. Smiling instinctively, she opened the text to read it, her face falling quickly.

 _Sorry, I can't make it today. Meeting with a professor._

Alex's chest clenched painfully at the thought of going another week without seeing Piper, but she didn't want to try and figure out what that meant. Instead, she typed back a quick response to Piper.

 _No worries, see you next Thursday._

Alex slowly stood up, picking up both coffee cups she had just purchased and tossed them in the garbage, making her way back to her apartment.

* * *

At six weeks into the semester, Alex was getting pretty agitated. Piper was totally flaking out on her. If it was anyone else, Alex might not care that much, but it was _Piper._ Alex _knows_ Piper. Knows how meticulous she is about schedules and times, but she can barely think of a time this semester that Piper actually held up her end of the bargain for their coffee dates.

The first week, Piper had shown up late, and then left after Nick showed up. The second week, Piper had been late, but had least acted like a normal human being. Piper had cancelled on her the third week, showed up late the fourth week, and this past week, Piper hadn't shown up, not even bothering to text Alex with an excuse. She felt stupid, and humiliated, and hurt.

Deep down, Alex knew why she felt like this. She liked Piper, she like her a lot. She was hot, smart, know-it-allish, and dorky in the most adorable way. She was annoyingly picky about her food, but her smile and laugh could light up a room. Alex didn't know what these feelings actually meant, whether they really extended beyond friendship, but at the very least, Alex was worried that she was losing someone she cared a great deal about.

It was Saturday night, and Alex was at a party. Actually, she was at a stupid frat house where she normally would never be caught dead at, but Sylvia really wanted to come, and insisted that Alex go with her. Her only excuse out of this, Nicky, said she knew a guy going who sold great weed, so she and Sylvia both dragged her along. She was currently standing in the corner of the living room by herself while her fuck buddy was off with her friends and while Nicky was trying to score some weed.

It was then she heard a familiar laugh.

Alex whipped around, and was met with the sight of Piper Chapman. Piper Chapman in a sinfully short, tight black skirt and white tank top, a red solo cup in her hand and surrounded by her friends. Even from across the room, Alex could see that Piper's cheeks were flushed, and that her laugh was a little too loud, telling her that Piper was a little buzzed.

Despite how badly she wanted to approach Piper, Alex stayed rooted to the spot, content with simply watching her for now. It may seem creepy, and Alex fully acknowledged that, but Alex had never really been given the opportunity to see Piper interact with her friends before; all of their interactions were either one on one or in class.

Though tipsy, Piper seemed a little more self-conscious with her friends. Sure, she was laughing and chatting, and overall seemed content, but she was also glancing around the room a lot more, as if she's trying to keep up appearances.

Alex watched as a boy slid up to Piper, casually injecting himself into a conversation with her and her friends. She watched as he kept eyeing Piper, smiling at her and casually brushing against her, even as Piper remained oblivious. Finally, the boy wrapped his arm around Piper's waist, and Alex felt like she had just been punched in her gut.

She breathed a sigh of relief as Piper maneuvered her way out of the boy's arms, laughing lightly as she moved closer to her other friends, immediately engaging them in conversation in order to avoid the douche bag.

Alex felt like she had waited long enough. Pushing herself off of the wall, she made her way over to Piper and her friends. She crossed the room quickly, lightly brushing her hand across Piper's arm as she leaned in, "Hey."

Piper whipped around, her eyes widening for a moment until, much to Alex's surprise, they narrowed slightly. "Alex," Piper half whispered. "What are you doing here?"

Alex shrugged. "You know, just out with some friends."

"Hmm," Piper nodded, glancing back to her friends. "That's nice."

"Yeah," Alex trailed off, an awkward silence passing between them as Piper began to turn away from her.

"So," Alex began again, Piper glancing back at her. "How have you been? I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

"I'm fine," Piper said shortly. "Just busy." Again, Piper turned back to her friends, this time completely cutting Alex off. Alex didn't understand what was going on, and why Alex was behaving this way. She reached for Piper's arm, turning the younger blonde to face her.

"What is your problem?" Alex snipped, hurt by the way Piper was treating her.

"Nothing," Piper snapped. "Nothing is my problem. What do you want from me? I'm here with my friends. We aren't _together,_ so I don't know what you want."

"Hey," a third voice came from the right, and Alex whipped around. It was that douche bag that had been hitting on Piper earlier. Great. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine," Alex replied through clenched teeth.

"Is she bothering you?" the guy turned to Piper gesturing at Alex.

"No," Alex and Piper said in unison, though Piper added an eye roll for good measure.

"I'm Rob," he smiled at Piper, moving to stand slightly in front of Alex.

"Piper," Piper offered, a small smile on her face.

"Do, you want to dance?" the guy gestured to the dance floor. Alex noticed Piper's gaze quickly flitted to her before she smiled, nodding.

"Sure," Piper smiled, her voice unbelievably fake. "Let's go."

"Piper," Alex said quietly, hating how whiny she sounded.

"Not now, Alex," Piper hissed. "Go find your girlfriend." And with that, she let the asshole lead her to the dance floor and press himself flush against her.

Alex felt rooted to the spot. She was still standing near Piper's friends, watching as she grinded with Rob, watching him run his hands over Piper's waist and hips. Alex felt instinctively jealous, wondering what the hell Piper saw in a guy like that when suddenly Rob leaned down and pressed his lips against Piper.

Piper seemed to freeze for a moment before responding, reaching up and circling her arms around his shoulders, suddenly equally enthusiastic.

Alex suddenly felt sick, and she had to get out of there. She sent a quick text to Sylvia and Nicky, telling them she was heading back, and practically ran out of the house, fists clenched.

As she exited the house, Alex forced herself to take deep breaths. She was acting like a jealous girlfriend, and was being ridiculous. Piper was not her girlfriend, hell, Piper was straight, that immediately made her off limits. she had no right to feel like this.

 _You just don't like that she brushed you off,_ Alex reasoned with herself. _She's your friend, and she just treated you like garbage. You have a right to be mad_.

Alex kept repeating that sentiment her entire way home, refusing to analyze the situation any further.

 _She's just a friend and she treated you like crap._

 _She's just a friend and she treated you like crap._

* * *

"Vause, why do you look like someone kicked your puppy?" Nicky asked after ten minutes of silence.

"I do _not_ look like someone kicked my puppy," Alex retorted hotly, but she knew Nicky was probably right. Nicky wasn't one to bullshit someone.

It had been ten days. Ten days since that party last Saturday night. Ten days since Piper had blown her off. Ten days since she watched Piper hook up with that meat head, watched them grind and grope one another until Alex couldn't take it anymore and fled from the house, white hot anger coursing through every part of her. Ten days since she had seen Piper. Alex had even gone to meet Piper for coffee at their spot, but Piper didn't show. She didn't even bother to text Alex and tell her she wasn't coming.

"That's bullshit and you know it," Nicky replied matter-of-factly. "Now come on Alex, tell me what's wrong."

Alex sighed heavily. "I haven't seen Piper in almost two weeks".

Nicky's smirked morphed into something more serious. "Really? What happened?"

"I don't know," Alex replied, ignoring the obvious desperation in her voice. "I saw her at that party last Saturday; she was there with her friends. I went over to talk to her, and she completely brushed me off. She barely looked at me, and the first chance she got, she ran off with some guy."

Nicky thought for a moment. "And you have no idea if you did anything?"

"No," Alex replied. "Unless she's embarrassed to be seen with me."

"Do you think she's embarrassed of you?"

Alex opened her mouth to reply, but then thought about it. Since the semester began, Piper had been acting weird, more distant. And they only ever met in public. Maybe she was worried about the two of them being seen together. Piper clearly cared what other people thought of her, her parents, professors, friends, hell, even drunk strangers at a party. Maybe Piper didn't want to be seen with her.

"What do I do?" Alex asked weakly, running her hand through her long, black hair.

Nicky shrugged. "If she doesn't show for coffee on Thursday, I say you confront her about it. Don't let her walk all over you and treat you like garbage."

Alex nodded, blinking back tears. "Okay," she agreed quietly.

Nicky studied Alex again, her expression making her feel like she had confessed something, "You really like her, huh?"

"Yeah," Alex admitted, her whole heart in her throat. "I really do."

Nicky fell silent, allowing the subject to drop as Alex's thoughts drifted to just how much she liked Piper Chapman.

* * *

Alex was fuming as she stormed toward the library.

Piper didn't show for coffee. Alex took Nicky's advice, and went to Piper's dorm room, but no one answered. Her neighbors told Alex that they thought they saw Piper heading to the library, which infuriated Alex even more. Piper wasn't sick, she didn't just forget; she left her dorm room with a purpose, to avoid Alex by going to the library.

Alex made her way through the library, searching wildly for Piper. Finally, she found Piper on the second floor, sitting at a desk close to the group study rooms. Piper glanced up when Alex was about ten feet from her, her eyes widening as Alex reached her.

"Alex," Piper stuttered out.

"I need to talk to you," Alex hissed, pointing to an empty group study room. Piper nodded slowly, looking at her feet as Alex led them into the room, shutting the door.

Alex turned, staring at Piper, who still wouldn't make eye contact with her. Finally, Alex felt her anger bubble over, and said the first thing she could think to say.

"You bitch," Alex bit out harshly. Piper's head shot up, eyes still doe-eyed and wide.

"Alex-" Piper began, but Alex cut her off.

"No, stop talking. What the hell is your problem? You blew me off the last two weeks, without even letting me know. You just didn't show up. And you blew me off a few weeks ago as well. If you were over this whole coffee thing, you just had to say so."

"No, it's not that," Piper said quietly, but Alex just kept going, every angry and hurt feeling finally coming to the surface.

"Oh, it's not? Because I thought we were friends, but I think I was wrong. I'm starting to think that you just needed me so you could get a fucking A in that theater class, and as soon as that was over, you decided you were done with me."

"No," Piper whispered, but Alex could barely hear her.

"Or maybe you're just too embarrassed to be seen around me. You have the perfect looks, and friends, and grades, and you don't need someone like me to fuck it all up for you. And fine, you don't want to be friends. You made it perfectly clear at that party that you don't want to be seen hanging around with me, whatever. But I would have at least thought you would have had the decency to put me out of my misery, rather than have me sitting around the student union for weeks on end looking like a lost puppy and wondering whether the hell you were even going to bother showing up. And-"

"Fuck you!" Piper exclaimed angrily, and Alex felt herself moving backwards. Piper's eyes were blazing as she stepped forward and shoved the brunette again. "Fuck you, Alex!"

Alex stepped back, unsure what to do as Piper stepped towards her again. "You're angry? Well, guess what? I'm angry too. Because I love you, Alex. I love you and I fucking _hate_ you."

The anger Alex felt dissipated almost immediately. _Piper loved her_. "What?" Alex said, so quietly she wasn't sure that Piper even heard.

"I've been trying really hard to keep my shit together here," Piper continued, tears in her eyes. "But if you really need to see me hulk out over this-"

"Piper, I didn't -"

"Shut up Alex," Piper cut her off. "Do you have any idea what it was like to question everything I knew about myself? Do you have any idea how scared I was when I realized that I might be gay? That I wasn't who I thought I was? But then I figured that maybe it didn't matter, because I loved you, and maybe, if I had you, it wouldn't matter so much what people thought, or whether my parents and friends disapproved, because I loved you, and maybe, you liked me too. But it turns out you have a girlfriend, so I had to live with all of this, being gay, loving you, this fear, all by myself. So I'm sorry I've skipped coffees and hurt your feelings, but I don't know what to do with all of this. I love you but being around you hurts. It hurts me Alex, so what am I supposed to do?"

Piper was crying now, and Alex couldn't believe what was happening. "Piper, I'm sorry, I didn't know. I didn't know you felt that way."

"Really?" Piper snapped back, eyes fiery again. "You had no idea? You had no idea at all that I might be into you? What about gaydar or whatever?"

"I mean, I wondered," Alex admitted quietly, her expression pained. "But I just wanted to be around you. I liked you, and I didn't want to ruin it, so I wanted to be your friend. I wanted you to like me," Alex paused for a moment, her own teary expression meeting Piper's. "I still do."

"But you have a girlfriend," Piper shook her head.

"It's complicated, Piper. I-" Alex began, but Piper cut her off.

"No," Piper shook her head. "I can't do this anymore."

"What do you mean?" Alex said, suddenly panicky.

"I told you, it hurts to be around you. You have a girlfriend, and it hurts me. I can't be your friend anymore; I can't keep getting coffee with you and pretending that everything's fine when I just want to tell you I love you. I can't, I'm done."

"Piper, please," Alex pleaded.

"I can't," Piper gasped, turning and walking out of the study room. Alex watched from inside as Piper went to her desk, gathered up her books and laptop, and practically fled from the library.

It was here, alone in the library, that Alex began to cry. Her chest felt like it was cracking in two, and it was then that Alex realized that maybe she loved Piper Chapman too.

* * *

Alex tried to let Piper go.

For a week, she avoided the most public parts of the school: the dining hall, the student union, and even the walkways towards buildings where Piper had classes. Piper said she couldn't do this anymore, that she didn't want to be Alex's friend, so Alex tried to abide by that.

But she was fucking miserable.

She didn't want to bother Nicky again with her problems, and she definitely couldn't talk to Sylvia about them, which left only one person. She dialed the very familiar number, and her call was answered on the second ring.

"Hey Al, I was just thinking about you," her mother's voice came through the receiver, and it made Alex want to cry.

"Hi Mom," Alex said softly.

"What's wrong?" Diane's voice turned serious.

"It's just," Alex trailed off, inhaling deeply. "I don't know what to do."

"About what?" Diane prompted.

"Piper," Alex began. "She was this girl in my theater class over the summer. We had met in the spring briefly, but then we had class together, and started working on a project together. I really like her, and we kind of became friends. But now, she doesn't want anything to do with me."

"Why not?" Diane asked, her voice sympathetic.

"She, um, she told me she loves me," Alex replied softly. "But I'm kind of…seeing someone right now, so Piper decided she doesn't even want to be friends anymore."

"And what do you want?"

"I think I want to be with Piper," Alex admitted aloud for the first time, surprised at how wonderful it felt to admit. "And I know I need to end things with Sylvia, but I don't even know if Piper would want to be with me after this, and I don't really want to ruin a good thing for nothing."

"Alex," Diane sighed. "Is casual sex more important than Piper?"

"No," Alex responded fervently.

"Well, then there's your answer. If you love this Piper, and if Piper loves you, then this is really a no brainer, right?"

"I guess," Alex admitted. "But how do I get her back?"

"I'm sure you'll think of something."

* * *

Two weeks later, Alex knocked on Piper Chapman's dorm room.

A petite brunette answered, eyeing Alex suspiciously. "Yes?"

"Is Piper here?" Alex asked, trying to look around the girl.

"No, she isn't," the brunette answered, her confused expression quickly changing to one of disdain. "You're Alex, right?"

"Yeah," Alex held out a wrapped package, trying to hand it to Piper's roommate. "Can you give this to Piper when she gets back?"

"Why would I do that? You're the girl who hurt my friend."

"She talks about me?" Alex asked without thinking.

The small brunette rolled her eyes. "You broke her heart, of course she talks about you."

"I'm sorry," Alex said sincerely. "I know I hurt her, but I'm trying to fix it. Can you please make sure she gets this when she gets back."

The girl took the package, nodding slightly as she shut the door in Alex's face. Alex felt anxious as she moved down the hall and out of the building, unsure as to what to do.

All that was left to do was wait.

* * *

Three days later, and Alex was going crazy. She hadn't heard from Piper at all. She was expecting to hear from Piper either way, whether it be that it was too late or that she did want to be with Alex. She just wasn't expecting radio silence.

Alex heard a knock at her door, and absent mindedly went to answer it. Maybe Piper's bitchy roommate never gave her the package, and just threw it in the trash. Maybe she should call or text Piper just to make sure she got it, and maybe use that as a way to figure out where Piper's head was at. Or-

"Hey," Piper said shyly as Alex's door swung open, revealing the object of her thoughts in front of her.

"Piper," Alex gasped, unsure what to do. So she just looked at Piper, who looked like the quintessential college student in an oversized knit sweater, leggings, and uggs. Piper was holding something in her hand, and Alex stared at before she realized what it was.

"You expanded my scene," Piper blurted out, her eyes shining as she held up the packet of papers.

And she had. After Alex had broken up with Sylvia, she tried to think of a way to tell Piper how she really felt. So, she took Piper's scene from their theater class, the one in which she described their kiss, and told it from her own perspective, expanding it.

"I did," Alex said cautiously.

"You were looking for me at the Katy Perry concert too?" Piper asked, stepping towards Alex slowly.

"I was," Alex nodded.

"And you really remembered my name on the first day of class?"

"Of course I did," Alex smiled slightly at how flustered Piper had looked when Alex pretended she didn't remember her name. "I was just trying to play it cool."

"And you don't just want to be friends?" Piper said, stepping forward again so she was standing in Alex's space.

"No," Alex admitted quietly, shaking her head.

"Me neither," Piper replied.

And Alex finally took the first step, ducking her head down and pressing her lips firmly again Piper's.

Alex finally felt like she was home.

* * *

After, they were laying in Alex's bed, Piper's head lying against Alex's chest.

"How did Sylvia take the news?" Piper asked.

"Kind of badly," Alex admitted. "But I think she knew it was coming. She wanted to be in a real relationship for a while, and I kept dragging my feet, telling her I didn't want to be tied down."

Piper sat up at that. "Is that how you feel about us?"

"No," Alex said vehemently. "I don't want a friends-with-benefits situation. I want to date you, and I want to be with you."

Piper nodded slowly. "And what do you think Sylvia will think."

"Who cares," Alex scoffed, but noticing Piper's expression, she answered honestly. "She probably won't be too happy."

Piper looked away thoughtfully before turning back to look at Alex, her expression open and vulnerable. "Did you love her?"

Alex stretched, reaching out for Piper's hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "No," Alex responded, pausing for a moment. "But I love you."

Piper didn't react for a moment, and Alex's stomach clenched nervously before she saw a hint of a smile cross Piper's face.

"You do?" Piper asked, as if she were surprised that Alex would love her.

Alex grinned shyly as she nodded, chuckling while Piper shifted so that she was now lying on her side, facing Alex as she slid under the blanket. Alex stroked Piper's face softly as Piper stared at her in awe, and Alex suddenly _needed_ to hear Piper say it back.

"I don't say that to everyone," Alex admitted seriously. "You have to say it back."

Piper's face turned serious for a moment, her eyes still wide, "I love you too," Piper said sincerely, smiling as Alex leaned in and kissed her again.

"I love you," Alex repeated.

"I love you too," Piper replied, silent for a moment before she burst out laughing.

"What?" Alex asked.

"I just realized that I am a Katy Perry song," Piper giggled slightly.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Alex asked, confused.

"You know, _I kissed a girl and I liked it,_ " Piper began singing slightly off key, and Alex couldn't help but laugh.

"You're an idiot," Alex smiled, shoving Piper affectionately.

"But I'm your idiot," Piper replied.

"Yes you are," Alex grinned, leaning in to kiss Piper once again.

* * *

 _A/N 2: Again, thank you all for reading, you're the best! Let me know if you think I should do a short epilogue; I feel like this ended kind of abruptly, and I could probably come up with a short epilogue for this Piper and Alex. If not, I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you enjoy my next fic (which will be out soon)!_


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: You guys are honestly the greatest. Thank you so much for all the amazing support. I have (clearly) written an epilogue for**_ **We Looked Like Giants, _and I hope you all enjoy it. It's pretty fluffy, so I'm not sure how well it gels with the rest of the story, but I hope you all enjoy it anyway. Thank you for being amazing!_**

* * *

We Looked Like Giants – Epilogue

It was finally December 29th.

Alex was sitting on her couch at home, nervously running her hands through her hair as she pretended to watch a movie. It was 7:36pm, and Piper's train was due in at 8:30, which meant that Alex had about twenty minutes before she had to get going.

A part of Alex was still in shock at how easy everything was with Piper. After finally getting together in November after the most stressful semester of her life, Alex had worried that whatever had intrigued her about Piper Chapman would disappear. But, she was wrong; Piper still captivated her in every way.

Since Piper showed up at Alex's doorstep, and Alex finally admitted she loved Piper, their lives seemed to instantly melt together. Coffee on Thursdays turned into breakfast every morning at the dining hall. Sporadic texts throughout the week turned into date nights. Randomly waving at each other when they spotted each other around campus morphed into Piper spending every weekend in Alex's apartment, spending over forty-eight hours straight together. Alex would have sworn off this type of relationship as needy and dependent, and would have pushed anyone else away in an instant, but instead, she found that she couldn't get enough of Piper Chapman.

The past two weeks had been the longest of Alex's life. Piper had finished her exams on December 10th, and even though she had been forced to leave her dorm within twenty-four hours of her last exam, she had moved into Alex's apartment for the last five days of the exam period, before Piper's parents came to pick her up and Alex headed home to her mom for Christmas. Though they talked on the phone at least once a day and texted constantly, Alex missed Piper's physical presence in her life.

Which led to Alex making a rash decision a week ago:

 _December 22_

 _Alex was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling as Piper ranted about something offensive her mother had said. She could picture her girlfriend perfectly, wildly gesturing as she spoke, her face scrunched up in that adorably indignant way when she's angry, and a pang of loneliness rushed through her._

" _So, she basically couldn't_ believe _that Elizabeth Perkins would cheat on her husband, because it's so wrong and immoral, all the while my father was having an affair with someone when I was nine, and when I confronted her about it,_ I _got in trouble. Ugh, the hypocrisy is ridiculous, I-"_

" _God, I miss you," Alex breathed out, unthinking._

 _Piper stopped talking, and they were both silent for a moment._

" _I miss you too Al," Alex could practically hear the small smile in Piper's words, and she knew the blonde was missing her just as much._

" _I just… I can't believe it's only been a week," Alex continued. "I don't know how I'm going to survive the next three weeks until we get back to school."_

" _Tell me about it," Piper groaned. "All my parents are talking about is a ski trip up in Vermont next week, and I would rather do anything else. Danny is going, but Cal got out of it by saying he had to work on a project with his friends. I need to find a way not to go, but I can't think of one."_

 _Suddenly, an idea popped into Alex's head. "Come visit me," Alex blurted out without really thinking about it._

" _What?" Piper asked, shocked._

" _Come visit me," Alex repeated. "Come see me, I'm serious. I'll buy you a train ticket." Now that she said it out loud, Alex was desperate to make this happen. She had to see Piper._

" _Are you serious?"_

 _Alex smiled. "Yes. Come see me. Tell your parents you have plans for New Years, and come down here."_

" _That honestly sounds amazing," Piper sighed, and Alex could tell that Piper was in._

" _When are your parents going skiing?"_

" _The thirtieth until January 3rd, just for a long weekend."_

" _Okay, give me a second," Alex sat up and reached for her laptop. She quickly searched for tickets before saying. "Okay, how about you come down on the twenty-ninth, and head back on the fourth? You get to leave before they do and come back after they get home, and then it'll be less than two weeks before we're back at school."_

" _That sounds amazing," Piper laughed a little, before her voice turned serious. "But Alex, train tickets get expensive, I can't ask you to do that."_

" _I'm offering," Alex insisted. "Trust me, this is just as much for me as it is for you. And if you really have a problem with it, consider it a Christmas present, since I didn't get you one."_

 _Piper was silent for a moment, and a flicker of worry coursed through her, thinking that Piper might say no. "I love you," Piper finally whispered._

" _Is that a yes?" Alex asked._

" _Yes," Piper giggled, and Alex couldn't help but laugh with her. "Yes."_

* * *

It was 8:30. She had seen that Piper's train had arrived and now she was waiting impatiently as everyone filed off the train and into the station. She squinted as she looked for Piper's blonde hair, finally catching sight of her as she through a duffle bag over her shoulder. She looked beautiful.

Alex always thought Piper looked great, but right now took the cake. Her black pea coat and cream knit hat made her blonde hair and blue eyes seem brighter. Alex watched as Piper scanned the small station before her eyes finally landed on Alex. Alex gave Piper her best smirk, lifting her hand in a wave.

Piper's eyes immediately lit up, and her expression broke into a wide grin, the widest smile Alex had ever seen. Piper began to dart through other passengers, making her way to Alex as quickly as she could, given the crowd and her duffel bag. When Piper finally reached her, the blonde launched herself into Alex's waiting arms, Piper's arms vining around her neck and burying her face into Alex's shoulder.

Alex gripped Piper tightly, running her hands up and down her girlfriend's back to solidify that she was really there, that it wasn't her imagination. Suddenly, she felt Piper laugh into her neck, and Alex couldn't help but join in, pure joy radiating from both of them.

Finally, Piper pulled away, her hands moving from Alex's shoulders to her face, cupping the taller girl's cheek. Alex kept her arms firmly on Piper's waist, not quite ready to relinquish contact yet.

"Hi," Piper whispered, almost in awe.

"Hey Pipes," Alex replied, just as quietly. Alex tilted her head down, pressing her lips to Piper's in a searing kiss. Piper moaned into Alex's mouth, causing Alex to pull Piper even closer to her, not caring about the fact that they were in a train station.

When they finally pulled apart, Piper was blushing, and Alex could feel herself smirking. "Yeah, I missed that," Alex said, cocking her eyebrow.

"Hmm," Piper hummed. "Me too."

"C'mon, let's get going," Alex grabbed Piper's hand, leading Piper out of the train station and toward her car.

* * *

The closer they got to her house, the more nervous Alex got. With the hand not holding Piper's she began to tap anxiously on the steering wheel at stop lights.

"Hey," Piper squeezed her hand, pulling Alex from her thoughts.

"Yeah?" Alex turned to her girlfriend, smiling expectantly.

"Are you alright" Piper asked, concerned. "You seem antsy."

"It's nothing, just…" Alex trailed off before looking at Piper again with wide eyes. "Just promise to keep an open mind when you get to my house, okay?"

Piper furrowed her brow, clearly confused. "Of course," the blonde refined firmly, lifting their joined hands and pressing a kiss to Alex's.

Alex smiled weakly, and they drove the rest of the way in silence. She couldn't help but tense as she turned down her street, with the sign "Pine Valley Plantation", on full view. She glanced at Piper as the blonde took in their surroundings. Piper looked out at the trailer homes with wide eyes, but as far as Alex could tell, her girlfriend's expression is unreadable.

The pulled into the gravel driveway in front of Alex's home, her _trailer,_ and went to grab Piper's bag. Coming around to the passenger side, she caught Piper smiling at her, and Piper reached for Alex's hand, squeezing it again as they made their way inside.

"Well, um," Alex began, moving to fidget with her glasses. "This is the living room. And the kitchen, obviously."

Their trailer had an open floor plan, the living room and galley kitchen in the same room, separated only by a raised countertop.

Alex pointed to the right. "My mom's room is just past the kitchen through that door. The bathroom is the first door there," Alex pointed to the left, and began to lead Piper to the door right next to the bathroom. "And this is my room."

Alex let the door swing open, and let Piper soak in her room. She knew her room was small, smaller than her bedroom in her apartment up at school. Squished in the small space was a full sized bed, pushed against the far corner of the room. A bureau and bookshelf overflowing with ran the length of another wall, and a door led to her closet. That was it, her tiny room.

"I probably should have cleaned up a little," Alex said, hoping she sounded casual as she motioned to the open bureau drawers overflowing with clothes and shoes strewn along the floor.

Piper turned to her, still grinning. "It's very you," she mused, nodding to the band posters and books as she grabbed her duffel bag out of Alex's hand and tossed in on the bed. "Where's your Mom?"

"At work, she'll get out at eleven."

"Well," Piper drawled, her voice turning sultry as she began to slowly unbutton her coat. "How do you plan on entertaining me?"

"It has been a long two weeks," Alex husked back stepping into Piper's space as the blonde dropped her coat to the ground. "So I definitely have some ideas." Hooking her fingers through Piper's belt loop, Alex pulled Piper to her, kissing her deeply.

When the kiss broke, Alex grabbed the hem of Piper's shirt and pulled it over her head, backing her up so that they fell onto the bed, Alex draping over Piper.

"Hmm," Piper moaned. "I like this idea."

"You better," Alex whispered into Piper's neck, trailing kisses along her neck as her hand slid down to flip the button on Piper's jeans.

* * *

By the time Alex's mom came home, Piper and Alex were draped across the faux leather couch in the living room, watching a movie. Alex was in her pajamas, a tee shirt and athletic shorts, while Piper opted for one of Alex's oversized band tee shirts, letting it fall halfway down her thighs.

Diane came through the door shortly after eleven, a bottle of wine in one hand and some take out in another. Alex squeezed Piper's arm on instinct, but the blonde met her gaze with a reassuring smile.

"Well, don't you two look cozy," Diane commented as she pulled off her jacket, her waitress uniform wrinkled underneath.

"We are," Alex smiled at her mom, and she was. Alex was sitting upright on the couch, feet resting on the coffee table, while Piper was sprawled on her back across the couch, her head pillowed in Alex's lap. One of Alex's arms draped lightly over Piper's stomach, while the other played with her hair.

"And you must be Piper," Diane smiled warmly at Piper. "I've heard a lot about you."

"I've heard a lot about you too," Piper wiggled out from Alex's grip, standing and moving towards Diane, arm extended. "It's nice to finally meet you Diane."

Diane ignored Piper's hand, instead pulling her in for a hug. "You too, Piper." Pulling away, Diane looked briefly between Piper and her daughter. "Are you guys hungry? I grabbed a bottle of wine, and picked up take out from the restaurant. We have to celebrate the occasion."

"What occasion?" Piper asked as she followed Diane to the small, circular kitchen table in the corner of the living room, Alex following behind her girlfriend.

"That Al brought a girl home. I never thought I'd live to see the day," Diane laughed.

"Mom," Alex groaned as she flopped down at the kitchen table, turning to Piper and reaching for her hand, playing with her fingers. "Don't listen to her, she's trying to embarrass me."

"You've never brought a girl home?" Piper asked, cocking her head and smiling.

"I was so worry that Al would never settle down. She's never had a real girlfriend before," Diane chuckled.

"Mom," Alex hissed, her face turning red.

"It's okay Mrs. Vause-" Piper began.

"Diane, call me Diane."

"It's okay Diane, Alex was just waiting until she found someone worthy," Piper joked, winking at Alex.

"That's very true," Alex said seriously, gazing at Piper with only a ghost of a smile on her lips. Piper's joking smile sank away, and it was now Piper's turn to blush.

* * *

Late that night, Alex was lying on her back, one arm curved around Piper as the blonde draped against her, head resting on Alex's shoulder as Piper's arm was snaked around her stomach. Alex felt herself slowly drifting to sleep as she played with the ends of Piper's hair.

"Is it true what your mom said?" Piper asked out of the blue.

"Is what true?" Alex asked, shifting her arm so she could trace random patterns up and down Piper's bare back.

"That you've never brought a girl home before," Piper whispered, tilting her head to kiss Alex's collarbone.

"Well," Alex drawled, snickering a little. "That's not _exactly_ true. I have brought girls home. My mom has just never been around to meet those girls."

"You brought them home for sex?" Alex turned to Piper to watch her knows crinkle at the question, and Alex couldn't help but let loose another snicker.

"Maybe," Alex said coyly, punctuating it with a kiss. "But don't worry, this mattress is kind of new, so you're the only one I've had sex on it with."

"You're such a romantic," Piper rolled her eyes, giggling slightly and kissing Alex again. "Why didn't any of them meet your mom?"

"Because none of them were my girlfriends," Alex said wanting to drop the subject. However, she sighed, finally softly admitting. "I've never had a girlfriend before."

"What?" Piper said with disbelief. "How is that possible? I mean, look at you!"

Alex laughed. "Just because I'm hot doesn't mean I have tons of ex-girlfriends. Tons of hookups? Yes, but I never really wanted to be in a relationship. Sylvia was the closest thing I came to a relationship, and even that was just a more consistent friends with benefit relationship than anything. I still came home at breaks and looked for girls around here to hook up with, so we definitely weren't exclusive. And when she asked for something more serious, I couldn't give her an answer."

"Well, you had also met me by then," Piper said quietly.

"Yeah, obviously. But I really think even if I had never met you, I wouldn't have wanted to take that next step with Sylvia."

"Then why me?" Piper asked with wide eyes.

Alex stared at her girlfriend, her gaze intense despite the smile cracking across her face. "Because you were different," Alex replied seriously as she kissed Piper.

When they parted, Piper grinned at Alex for a moment before burrowing further into Alex's embrace.

"I love you," Piper breathed against Alex's neck.

"Love you too," Alex murmured into the night.

* * *

The next two days flew by in a euphoric blur. Alex took Piper everywhere around her home town, showing her where Alex had gone to school, her usual hangouts, everything. Piper took everything in with glee, eager to learn as much as she could about young Alex.

On the morning of December 31, Piper rolled out of bed before Alex, throwing on sleep shorts and a tee shirt as Alex reached for her glasses.

"So," Piper began, flopping back onto Alex's bed as Alex began to sit up. "It's New Year's Eve."

"It is," Alex confirmed, smiling back at Piper.

"Well, do we have any plans for tonight?"

"I have a couple of ideas," Alex replied, kissing Piper quickly on the lips.

"Well?"

"Well one, we could just hang around my house today, drinking, watching the ball drop, and other things," Alex winked coyly. "Or, we could go out tonight. My mom has to work, and the restaurant has a bar area. I could take you out to dinner, and then we could move into the bar area later in the evening."

"Hmm, I like the second idea. It'll be nice to spend a little bit of time with your mom on New Years."

"You just want to make sure my mom likes you," Alex laughed, kicking Piper's leg.

"No!" Piper exclaimed insistently, moving to shove Alex lightly. "But I do need to make a good impression."

"Pipes, trust me, my mom loves you?"

"Really?"

"Yes you idiot," Alex laughed, reaching for Piper and pulling her close. "Trust me, she approves."

"Good," Piper nodded. "I really like her too."

Alex rubbed Piper's arm lightly. "Good, because it would be a deal breaker if you didn't. Now come on, I wanna go grab some coffee."

* * *

After eating in Diane's section of the restaurant, and spending a lot of the time joking with her when she was on break, Alex and Piper moved to the bar. She managed to find an opening near the bar, and was thus able to keep Piper with a constant supply of margaritas.

"Ooh!" Piper jumped. "They're starting the countdown!"

"They are," Alex replied, raising her glass. "I'd like to propose a toast."

"To what?" Piper asked, her voice cushioned and over enunciated due to her buzz.

"To this past year, because I got to meet you," Alex smiled as Piper's eyes lit up. "And to this upcoming year, because I'm pretty sure it's going to be a pretty great one."

"To last year. And to this year," Piper giggled, clinking her margarita glass against Alex's beer bottle and taking a sip. Alex sipped her beer as the crowd started to count down around them.

 _10…9…8…7_

Alex turned, placing her beer bottle on the bar and stepped toward Piper, looping her arms around the blonde's waist.

 _6…5…4_

Piper reached her free hand up, briefly running her hand through Alex's hair before letting it rest lightly against Alex's cheek.

 _3…2…1_

"Happy New Year's Pipes," Alex said quietly, ducking her head down.

"Happy New Year Alex," Piper whispered, pulling Alex's face towards her and kissing her deeply.

Alex gently worked Piper's mouth open, slipping her tongue inside. Piper sighed into Alex's mouth, holding Alex firmly to her. Alex began to run one of her hands up and down Piper's back, skimming dangerously close to the blonde's ass.

"Um, you girls know you're in public, right?" Diane's voice came from the right, and Piper jumped back suddenly. Diane was smirking at the two of them, and while Piper blushed beet red, Alex merely, shrugged, smiling at her mom.

"Just came over to wish you two a Happy New Year before I have to go help close up the restaurant," Diane turned to Alex, pulling her daughter into a hug. "Happy New Year Alex."

"Happy New Year Mom," Alex responded, kissing her mom's cheek lightly. "Love you."

Diane pulled away and immediately reached for Piper. "And Happy New Year to you too Piper. I'm so glad I got to meet you."

"Happy New Year Diane."

"Now you girls head home, I'll meet you there soon with a bottle of champagne."

"Kay," Piper replied giddily, downing the rest of her margarita. "I'm ready."

"Let me pay the tab," Alex laughed, quickly flagging down the bartender. After leaving a generous tip, Alex turned, grabbed her girlfriend's hand, and led Piper from the restaurant, giggling and smiling all the way. Alex could honestly not remember a time she felt this happy.

* * *

The night before Piper was supposed to leave, Alex noticed that her girlfriend had been acting distant all day. She had tried to pull Piper from the thoughts in her head, but had been unsuccessful.

Waiting until they were curled up in bed that night, she decided to pull the information from Piper.

"Pipes, what's going on?" Alex said as she ran her hand through her girlfriend's blonde hair.

"Nothing," Piper replied automatically.

"Come on Piper, you've been acting weird all day. Please just tell me?"

"It's just…" Piper paused before continuing. "You graduate this year."

"I know," Alex smiled. "I can't wait to be done with school forever."

"But, I'll still be at school. And Alex, we could barely survive two weeks without each other, how the hell are we supposed to survive a year?" Piper looked up at Alex with wide eyes, worry and anxiety filling her expression.

Alex felt her heart melt a little at Piper's worry, and gave Piper her best reassuring smile. "Hey," Alex whispered, kissing Piper's forehead lightly. "I promise it will work out."

"How do you know?" Piper whispered.

"Well, I kind of like the Northampton area. It's only about forty minutes from home, so I wouldn't be too far away from my mom, and I could visit her a lot."

"You're going to stay in Northampton?"

"Or a town near there. Mt. Holyoke just posted a job in their marketing department. We'll see if I can convince them to hire me in May, or if I can do some extended training with them this semester until I graduate." Alex looked down at Piper, who seemed shocked by Alex's plan. "I'm not leaving Northampton, and I'm not leaving you Piper, I promise."

Piper tilted her head up, brushing her lips lightly against Alex's. "Good."

"I told you, this year is going to be pretty great. In order for it to be great, you need to be a pretty big part of it."

"I love you," Piper smiled brightly.

"I love you too," Alex grinned, pressing her lips to Piper's again.

As Piper settled back against Alex, her smiled widened. It was January third, and Alex Vause had a plan for this year. And she was pretty sure this year would be her best one yet, at least with Piper by her side.


End file.
